Descrizione
June 21 - June 28, 2025
7 days, 7 nights / 6 days of excursions and visits
Maximum group size: 7 people / itinerant / picnic lunches, restaurant meals, and tastings
Mediterranean Alps, Southwestern Alps, Maritime Alps, Ligurian Alps, or more commonly, the Maritime Alps:
These extraordinary peaks mark the southwestern end of the Alpine chain and are known by many names.
This journey, composed of 6 distinct cycling excursions, is designed to connect three territories sharing a common history. Until 1947, almost all the valleys included in this itinerary were part of Italian territory.
Despite today’s political divisions, these lands—long defined by hard agricultural labor (particularly shepherding)—remain a unique cultural and ancestral heritage. We are in the Brigasque Land, an area where tradition unites people across borders in a shared ethno-linguistic identity that spans Italy and France. This encompasses the Italian provinces of Cuneo and Imperia (Piedmont and Liguria) and the French department of the Alpes-Maritimes.
Today, approximately 700 people still live in this region, striving to preserve their language, Brigasque (a variant of Ligurian dialect), as well as traditions tied to agricultural and pastoral life, which are increasingly at risk of disappearing.
Beyond its cultural significance, this area boasts exceptional natural beauty. From peaks over 2,000 meters high, you can see the sea. The moderating effect of its proximity to the sea allows for an incredible diversity of flora and fauna to coexist.
Summer is the ideal time to witness blooming orchids or observe birds of prey soaring over the peaks. Among these are griffon vultures and the bearded vulture—the largest bird of prey in Europe—reintroduced and protected through a transboundary conservation project.
Each day, we will stay in a different location, starting near the Parc National du Mercantour in France, skirting the Parco Naturale Alpi Marittime (Cuneo), crossing the Alta Via del Sale through the Parco Naturale Marguareis, and continuing along the border ridge into the Parco Regionale Alpi Liguri (Imperia), finishing at the Ligurian Sea on the final day.
Day 1 – Arrival at Nice Airport and transfer to La Brigue
Day 2 – Loop between La Brigue and Bassa di Sanson, with a van transfer to Casterino for overnight stay
Approx. +/-1,000 m elevation; 40 km; Loop
Day 3 – Casterino to Panice Soprana (Limone Piemonte)
Approx. +600 m/-700 m elevation; 25 km; Linear
Day 4 – Quota 1400 to Rifugio Don Barbera
Approx. +600 m elevation; 25 km; Linear
Day 5 – Rifugio Don Barbera to Triora
Approx. +500/-1,300 m elevation; 40 km; Linear
Day 6 – Triora to Pigna via Colle Melosa
Approx. +1,100/-1,600 m elevation; 40 km; Linear (with a short loop)
Day 7 – Pigna to Dolceacqua via Gouta, with van transfer of bikes and luggage to Bordighera for overnight stay
Approx. +1,000/-1,200 m elevation; 45 km; Linear
Day 8 – Transfer to Nice Airport and return home
- Cycle touring
- E-mtb, Cicloturismo, Bicicletta, Alpi Marittime, Alpi Liguri, Francia
