Gravuren und Seen in der Vallée de FontanalbeGravuren und Seen im Vallée de Fontanalbe

Held in place by its roots which have been petrified by freezing weather, whose colour has faded due to water and which allow it to grow on bare rock, the Swiss pine bends towards the waters of the lake Coming from the Carpathians thanks to the glacial periods of the quaternary era, the Swiss pine reaches the southern and western limits of its domain in the Mercantour. It is stock and has adapted to the excesses of the Alpine climate, surviving its temperatures of under -40°C, while the acidic and cold ground is good for the Swiss pine’s seeds to germinate in. Its biological rhythm is slow: it flowers for the first time when it is 60/70 years old and then every 6/10 years. It can reach 1000 years of age.

260 million years ago, in the depths of the Permian Sea, beds of very fine silt were being compressed, preparing the material which makes up certain mountains today. The huge pressure caused by the Alpine tectonic uplift and the internal heat of the mineral world metamorphosed the silt, forming “writing tables” upon which the glaciers of the quaternary era and then humans wrote their stories.

The Sacred Path is bordered by more than 280 engravings, the most well-known of which depict a pair of oxen pulling a scratch plough, guided by a peasant. In the area reserved for guided visits, close to the green lake, you can see the “Roche des Peaux”, covered in full geometrical figures engraved in circular fashion. On the “rocher des Guerriers”, you will see a unique scene: there are two people bearing arms, one of whom is an archer firing an arrow.