Cabane de Joyeux
The place
Unmanned pastoral cabin at 1936 m in the commune of Villars-Colmars (Val d'Allos, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), on the edge of the Mercantour National Park, in the Trois-Évêchés sector. The site actually consists of two buildings: the original stone cabin, unchanged since at least the 1930s, a testament to traditional pastoralism; and the new Cabane de Joyeux, built at the turn of the 20th–21st century from local sandstone bonded with cement mortar, with a steel sheet roof, a mezzanine, and a single floor. The sector is listed in the General Inventory of the Cultural Heritage of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Notable position on the edge of the neighbouring Chabaud cabins (Chabaud-Joyeux cabins), reached from the hamlet of Chasse — a path that climbs the valley and then turns left towards the high summer pastures. Mineral and forested setting of the high valleys of Val d'Allos: larches, subalpine grasslands, panorama over the Trois-Évêchés massif and the Italian border. Emblematic wildlife: chamois, marmot, golden eagle, griffon vulture.
Getting there
From the hamlet of Chasse (Villars-Colmars, Val d'Allos), path towards the Chabaud-Joyeux cabins.
The setting
Val d'Allos, Trois-Évêchés, edge of Mercantour National Park. Site listed in the PACA Cultural Heritage Inventory.
