The Nice region was part of the Kingdom of Savoy until the mid 1800s (1) and a portion of the Alpes Maritimes northeast of Nice in the Roya River Valley remained part of Italy until 1947. The valley is therefore served by French trains from Nice and Italian trains from Ventimiglia on the Italian coast (2).
The train from Nice follows the historic mule trail (3) up the Paillon River Valley. The morning departure had commentary in French and English (4) from a bilingual guide who described the route and its history. While the railway was built in the steel era, the railway's designer preferred stone (5) and cement, both abundant in the region.
At Breuil sur Roya, the Italian line joins the French railway, and they share tracks from there to Tende, the last stop before the Italian border. The railway guide stopped to chat with us and enquire where we were headed:
"To hike between La Brigue and Tende" (7).
"There are two routes" she said.
"We're going via the Col de Boiselle" we replied.
She eyed the hiking boots we were wearing, and expressed her approval.
After alighting at La Brigue, we headed to town for provisions of bread and cheese, and found the well-marked trailhead toward the Col de Loubaira (6). The hike up offered little shade, but fine views back to La Brigue and to St Dalmas de Tende, towns connected by a spiral rail tunnel, permittting the trains to gain altitude.
At the Col de Loubaira, we could have descended to Tende on dirt roads, but we opted to proceed further up along the shoulder of the Cime de Boséglia to the Col de Boiselle (Colle de Bosellia in the local Italian dialect). We passed through cool pine forests and over scree fields, with views to the town of Tende far below. After the Col, we encountered the only other people we saw on the trail (8).
At a trail junction, we opted for the more direct route down to Tende, following a series of narrow switchbacks and seeing an Italian war monument on our descent. Total vertical rise about 1,500 feet and about 5 miles of hiking.
At the end of the trail, there was a cool & refreshing mountain spring, where we refilled our bottles before catching the afternoon train back to Nice. A dog on the train was very happy to entertain a group of school kids
(1) Before Italian unification in the 1860s.
(2) The portion of the railway connecting Nice to the Roya valley was not completed until 1938 due to defense concerns (a)
(a) The tunnel connecting the Paillon River and the Roya Valley has bullt-in fortifications just in case.
(3) Carrying salt (mainly used to preserved food) from the Mediterranean to the Turin region.
(4) The guide's diction was excellent and I was pleasantly surprised that I could sort of catch a reasonable amount of what she said in French (which was at least twice as much as she said in English).
(5) Oddly enough, my wife and I talked about the durability of stone railway structures while riding the train over the Canton Viaduct, built of stone in the 1840s, on the way to the airport in Boston just a few days ago.
(6) "Col" is French for a mountain pass.
(7) Hiking at home in Massachusetts generally involves going up and down a mountain. Here in the Alpes Maritimes, trails often go between towns, as they were used to actually go somewhere before the railways and roads were built.
(8) In October 2020, rain-laden Tempete (Storm) Alex (b) came ashore from the Mediterranean and devastated the Roya Valley, washing out bridges and large sections of the only road in the narrow valley. The railway was closed for a year. The auto road, with its temporary bridges and long one-way sections, remains open only to local residents and others staying in the valley. These circumstances help to explain the paucity of people we encountered in the trail.
(b) Apparently, there is some naming convention for significant storms in the Mediterranean.
Views from the train
Where the train will be after a loop tunnel
At La Brigue
The trailhead. The baguettes stuck out of top of our rucksack
St Dalmas de Tende
Spot of shade on the ascent
Entrance to the tunnel between La Brigue and St Dalmas. Non-electrified line; the steel arms over the tracks support cables to catch big rocks falling off the hills.
View to the Southwest
Old farmstead near Col de Loubaira
Distant view of La Brigue
Climbing toward Col de Boiselle
Tende nestled in the valley
Scree field
Tenacious flowers in scree
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