Refuge de Longon, Mercantour National Park

Alpine Pastures, High Trails, and a Remote Base in the Southern Alps

Refuge de Longon sits among high alpine pastures above Roure and the Tinée Valley, within Mercantour National Park in the southern French Alps. At 1,880 metres, the refuge and surrounding pasture form a remote stopping point on the GR5 as it crosses the mountains of the Mercantour.

The landscape around Longon is pastoral and mountainous, with open grassland surrounding the refuge and higher ridges rising above the valley. Cattle, goats and sheep are brought into the high pastures during the summer months, continuing a long tradition of seasonal farming in this part of the Alps.

There is no road access to Longon. The refuge is reached on foot by mountain trails climbing from the Tinée Valley and surrounding settlements, including Roure. This isolation is part of its character, with the approach forming part of the experience of reaching the high pastures.

The GR5 passes directly through Longon, connecting the refuge with the wider network of valleys, passes and mountain settlements crossed by the route through Mercantour National Park. Walks around the refuge range from paths through the surrounding pastures to longer mountain stages involving sustained ascent and descent.

For walkers following the GR5, Longon provides a natural overnight stopping point between stages. For those exploring the wider Mercantour, it offers a remote base from which the surrounding high pastures and mountain landscape can be experienced entirely on foot.