The breathtaking road to Col de la Sinne
Col de la Sinne is a mountain pass at an elevation of 1.438m (4,717ft) above the sea level, located in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Expect sections up to 15% near the summit.
The road to the summit, also known as Col de la Sinna, is extreme. It’s asphalted, in very bad conditions, and extremely narrow and steep. The road has some narrow parts, so proceed cautiously and hope no other vehicles come from the other direction. Not recommended if you don't know how to reverse. Be sure to ride this on a clear day; the frequent summer thunderstorms can ruin an otherwise priceless view. The pass road is 8.5 km long, running west-east from Pierlas to Ilonse. Starting from Touet sur Var (Gorges du Cians), the ascent is 19.77 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 1.099 meters. The average percentage is 5.5 % but the maximum slope is 15 %.
The road to Pierlas is marked on a lot of maps as a “dangerous road” as it is a typical French balcony road. At the beginning on the western end of the street there are some tight hairpin bends. Choppers will not be able to do them. Often there are stone splinters on the road which could damage your tires. Don’t drive this road with a fat car if you are not really sure that you can go into reverse for at minimum 1 km as there are very little possibilities that 2 cars can pass by each other. The dangerous road section of the road does not end in Pierlas. After this small village there are 4 more hairpin bends which are very tight, small and steep. Before you drive this street do some exercises in driving curves as small as possible – you will need these capabilities for sure. Basically – the 4 bends after Pierlas are the essential points on this route.