The Estrop Valley

6 points of interest

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  Fauna

  Alpine ibex (Capra ibex)

  A symbol of the high mountains and their giddying peaks, this ungulate disappeared from this region more than 150 years ago.
  Since 1987, reintroduction operations have been jointly undertaken by the Mercantour National Park and the Parco naturale Alpi Marittime.
  A group of fifty or so have settled at Roche Grande.
  To allow them to be identified, the animals are given coloured ear tags. The park staff regularly monitor the development of the species.

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  Fauna

  Siberian cricket (Aeropus sibericus)

  During the great glacial periods, this orthoptera lived on the plains. As the climate has warmed back up, it has moved to the high mountains, above 2000m. The male can be recognised thanks to the its bulging back legs, hence its surname of “Popeye”. This herbivore, whose predators include birds, marmots and foxes, is part of the food chain in high-altitude pastures.

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  Pastoralism

  Pastoralism

  This grassy valley called Estrop (stropia: flock) a been used for pastoral purposes for many a long year: 1500 sheep graze it from August to September. The hut serves as a shelter for the shepherd. The flock rests on the knoll as the abundance of nettles and wild spinach attest. The Alpine grass is a fragile environment where the National Park helps ensure that a biological balance is maintained, while trying to improve the working conditions of shepherds.

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  History and historical trail

  Military remains

  Just before the Second World War, the French army decided to build fortifications (bunkers) on Col de Gialorgues with a few to stopping a possible Italian invasion. Military authorities aimed to open a sufficiently wide track to allow all-terrain vehicles to reach Col de Gialorgues. Materials were transported by mules from the camp which was set up at the foot of the Estenc woods, but the soldiers had to rapidly give up due to the stony nature of the ground.

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  Lake

  The Estrop lakes

  Around 10000 years ago, the glacier occupied the whole valley before it gradually shrank as the climate warmed up, leaving a body of water behind each glacial rock bar. Slowly, erosion overcame this stock of water. Ad you head up the valley, you are also heading back in time: grasses towards the bottom, peat bogs in the middle, lakes towards the top. Around the wetland areas, Arcto-Alpine species flourish such as the cane and Zweifarbige Seggen which are protected at both a national and a European level.

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  Fauna

  White-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus)

  Also known as the snow quail (or “jalabre” in the local dialect), this bird of the Tetraoninae family is a familiar sight in the high mountains. It is perfectly adapted to the cold and lives all year round at 2500 - 3000m. Three to four times per year, it changes its feathers according to its surrounding environment. In the autumn, the ptarmigans can join together in groups of 20 to 25 individuals. Their main predators are stoats and golden eagles.