Hiking in the mountains

I would come back to hiking in and around La Norma (see blog ‘Autumn in La Norma’) Hiking in and around La Norma is great. All possible walks for all target groups are available. From a simple walk for the family with pram to the experienced and adventurous alpinist. There are plenty of suitable walks here for everyone in length and difficulty levels. The forests of La Norma and its surroundings are fantastic all year round. There is a lot to see and a lot to experience. We recommend the app Komoot to find routes or plan your own. Of course, you can also visit the tourist office in Mondane for more information and staff maps.

Warning for hiking in the mountains

Hiking in the mountains is totally different from hiking in the Netherlands! This is very much underestimated. In our flat little country, you can walk a few kilometres without effort, but in the mountains it’s a different story really.
Important:
– Everything you walk up, you also have to walk down again. And the reverse is also true. – Walking up is an effort but walking down is too! Especially if it gets a bit steeper. – Fewer accidents happen when walking uphill than when walking down. – Your own balance is important. Not everyone has this (different motor skills or due to medication). Use walking sticks if necessary. – Hydration is important. Always take enough water with you (especially in summer). – Tell those left behind where you will be walking; even if you think you will only be gone for half an hour. – Take a phone with you. To alert the emergency services. The Dutch Mountaineering Association (NKBV) actually warns about this every year!

https://nkbv.nl/kenniscentrum/moeilijkheidswaardering-bergwandelpaden.html

The easy family walks

For families with small children, walking or in a pram, or for adults/elderly people who are less agile, La Norma is also suitable for walking and enjoying the sun and the surroundings. The asphalted roads as well as the well-maintained and fine gravel paths lend themselves perfectly to prams, rollators, wheelchairs and so on. As La Norma is not crowded, especially outside the high season, walking here at your own pace is wonderfully relaxing.

  • The initial part of route ‘Erika’ is a suitable walk to do with a pram or buggy. Up to the swings cq the first viewpoint, it is no problem. The best thing to do then is to return the same way.

For the more experienced hikers

For more experienced hikers, the area around La Norma has a lot to offer. On Komoot, for example, many walks in and around La Norma can be found. But there are also many local walks plotted using the famous French yellow signposts. Again, a word of warning: these walks usually follow the often wide unpaved paths that rise and fall slightly, but there are also the narrower paths that go right through the forest. These narrower paths are trickier to hike: protruding rocks and tree roots, strewn with acorns and leaves, small sections where it can suddenly rise and fall considerably.
Good footwear is therefore a must; so is a good own balance. Fun walks from La Norma Chalet 96:

  • Standing in front of La Norma Chalet 96, turn left uphill immediately into the forest and past the waterfall. Walk on, after about 100 metres there is a signpost showing several routes. The closed asphalt road here is closed for a reason: some parts of the road have been beaten away and are therefore no longer passable for cars. But it is for hikers and cyclists. Absolutely recommended!
  • Standing in front of La Norma Chalet 96, turn left uphill immediately into the forest and past the waterfall. Walk on, after about 50 metres there is first a path steeply uphill on the right and just after that another path diagonally uphill on the right. Walk up this one. At approx 10 metres you will see a side path on the left or turn left a little higher at approx 20 metres. Both run parallel to the road and end up at the signpost (see above). There is a third path on the left (at about 40 metres elevation) also running parallel to the road but coming out a little higher on the closed tarmac road near the signpost.
  • There is also a signpost in the centre of La Norma with several routes.
  • Route ‘Erika’ is a beautiful route for both beginners and experienced hikers. Start is at the outdoor swimming pool.

For the ‘alpinists’ among us

In the forests on the slopes of Mount La Norma, there are countless trails that do not appear on Google, Komoot or any other map. So you have to look for them yourself. And I don’t mean the game trails or the trails, but the very narrowest paths that can be walked by humans. And they really are there: countless! But beware: these are the trails that are very demanding of you. They are challenging in steepness, in surface and balance.

Warning: do not start this if you do not have good fitness, equipment and a solid ‘trittsicherheit’.

How to find:
As mentioned, there are several. I mention three near the cottage:

  • Standing in front of La Norma Chalet 96, turn left uphill immediately into the forest past the waterfall, after about 50 metres there is a steep path straight up. At the top you come to a trail, which is hardly used. Turning right goes up considerably, eventually ending up on the green piste.
  • Standing in front of La Norma Chalet 96, turn left uphill immediately into the forest past the waterfall, after about 50 metres there is a steep path straight up. Pass that one, 20 metres further on is another path on the right at an angle upwards. Follow this path steeply uphill. Good luck!!!
  • Standing in front of La Norma Chalet 96, turn left uphill immediately into the forest past the waterfall, after about 100 metres you will see a signpost on the left. There used to be a path down to the left here. This is actually no longer there (and is no longer on the maps). The start of the path has been removed, but if you go down a bit through the vegetation near the signpost on the left, you will automatically see the path again (runs parallel to the road). Follow this; it bends to the left. Path leads to a stream; here it is partly swept away. To the left of this, look for an opportunity to descend further. The path continues here again and quite steeply downhill. Eventually you emerge onto the county road.