Hiking - Sormiou and its jewels

Philippe is a mountain guide. He offers to pass on his passion for the Parc national des Calanques during hikes to discover the riches of this territory he loves so much.

I was born in Marseille, and as a child of the hills I used to run around the city. Then, with my mother, I came across the Calanques while hiking. I developed a deep love for the site. As a teenager, whenever I had a moment, it was my adventure playground, which I never stopped exploring.

I had my map, and I liked to lose myself in order to find my way back. When I was in business school, I used to go and get some fresh air in the Calanques, a very inspiring place.

After his first experience as a sales engineer failed to satisfy him, Philippe decided to return to his "first love":

My only escape was to go and recharge my batteries in the Calanques National Park. So I retrained to become a certified mountain leader. I wanted to work in a place that had brought me such peace and well-being.

Thanks to the botanical and naturalist associations he used to frequent in his spare time, Philippe has always been trained in the natural environment.

When it came time to retrain, it seemed obvious to me to return to this natural environment, which seemed so extraordinary! So it was in 2007 that I took my mountain guide diploma and developed "Horizon Randonnée". I then created themed hikes to help people discover the natural and human environment, and also to educate schoolchildren.

A key player in the Parc national des Calanques for the past 15 years, Philippe has helped more than 10,000 schoolchildren discover the region's riches, accompanying them along the trails.

When the National Park was created, I was a member of the workshops on land use in the National Park. I spent 5/6 years working on the National Park. So when it was created, I wanted to continue working with them. I was one of the first to apply for the Esprit Parc Nationalbrand.

My vision of tourism is above all not mass tourism, but having small groups to whom I can pass on good behavior both on land and at sea. For me, Esprit parc national is a way of showing off my practices, and gaining legitimacy among all my other colleagues.

As a representative of the brand's beneficiaries, Philippe appreciates being able to work on strategic aspects and take a step back from his own practices:

It's also a way of breathing new life into my partners, encouraging them to adopt more environmentally-friendly practices.