Itinerary

Please plan to arrive in the afternoon at the Pension Dulau for our welcome dinner at 7 PM.  
(Dinner included)

We are ferried up to the start of our hike to La Fruitiere and begin our high Pyrenees mountain hike with three almost flat miles up the Lutour valley past cascades and meadows to the Estom lake (5600ft) where we will camp for the night. Having dropped our packs, we now can take a trail up the eastern headwall of the valley which soon rises to several high cirques with numerous lakes and tarns. The really ambitious can go to the mountain crest at almost 10,000 feet. We have our evening meal in the Estom refuge.
(Breakfast and Dinner included)

We hike from Estom lake (5600ft) up to the Col d’Arraille (8523) down  to the Gaube valley beneath the Vignemale, probably the most spectacular mountain in the Pyrenees and down the valley to the Pont d’Espagne (5000ft) total 8 miles. We take a bus back to Cauterets. A more strenuous option would be to climb from the Gaube valley up to the Col des Mulets, traverse over to the Col d’Arratille and down the Arratille valley to the Pont d’Espagne. This would add about 1200 feet of ascent and descent and about six miles to the day. We return to the Pension Dulau. This is a free evening with a chance to eat out in Cauterets.  
(No meals included)

This is a rest day. In the morning, we will review equipment and prepare for the six-day hike starting the next day. This is our chance to explore a French mountain resort village. Cauterets is a historic resort famous for its thermal baths since the 19th century; it still looks much the way it did during the Belle Epoque. There is much to do and see including a museum of the natural history of the Pyrenees and interesting small shops and restaurants. A wonderful short walk (two or three hours) is the waterfall or cascade hike up to the Pont’d Espagne which must be one of the most spectacular of its kind in the world. In the evening, we will have a gastronomic excursion to a restaurant known for its regional specialties such as garbure and cassoulet and the famous local wines, Madiran and Jurancon. (Breakfast and Dinner included)

We hike from the Pont d’Espagne (5000) to the Refuge Wallon (6158) (4 miles). We go up one of the most beautiful high valleys in the Pyrenees following an ancient route over the mountains to Spain. We have an easy day and camp just beyond the refuge. Several short and interesting side trips are possible from our campsite during the rest of the day. One is to the high pass of the Puerto de Panticosa (two miles and 2000 feet) and another is to the Aratille Lake (two miles and 1000 feet).
(Breakfast and Dinner included)

We hike to the Col de la Fache (8800). Those who wish can go to the summit of the Grande Fache (9900). It is an easy scramble but exposed with a terrific view, which will take about two and a half hours. The whole aspect of the Pyrenees now changes as we descend from the relatively green French side to the sunny and arid Spanish side. We go past several lakes to the Resposumo refuge (6700). We camp near the refuge and have our evening meal in the refuge (5miles).  
(Dinner included)

From Resposumo lake (6700), we climb past the Arriel valley lakes to the Col d’Arremoulit (8080) and down to the Arremoulit lakes in a very alpine setting with glacial lakes and cliffs all around. We have dinner in the refuge. We Americans call it a meal but for the French hut gardiens, it is a repas, an occasion (5 miles).  
(Dinner included)

From the Arremoulit lakes (7590), we cross the Col de Palas (8300), traverse the upper cirque of the Arriel valley to the Port du Lavedan (8636), and descend past several high mountain lakes to the Larribet refuge (6814). This is a spectacular day with numerous views of Mt. Balaitous (4 miles) Evening meal in the refuge. Possibility of side trips to easy peaks or mountain cirques.  
(Dinner included)

We descend from the Larribet refuge (6814) to the valley of the Arribet (5742). This is the sort of valley that gives the Pyrenees their reputation as the garden of Europe. We ascend to the Col de Cambales (8930) and down to the Cambales lakes for a camp at about 7590 ft, No refuge (8 miles).  
(No meals included—Dinner self prepared in camp)

We go past the Cambales lakes and cross over to another high mountain cirque with numerous lakes. We go past the Lac Nere, Lac Pourtet and the Lacs de L’Embarrat and down to the Pont d’Espagne. (6 miles and 1500 ft of ascent) We take the shuttle bus back to Cauterets and dinner at the Pension Dulau.
(Dinner included)

We are taken to St. Bertrand de Comminges and the Es Pibous campground by taxi in about an hour and a half. For the rest of the day, we explore St. Bertrand village which used to be a Roman city of 25,000 and now has a population of about a hundred. This includes a visit to the Basilica of St Just, a remarkable early Christian church built out of pieces of the old Roman city, to the Roman ruins and small Roman museum and to the cathedral of St. Bertrand.
St. Bertrand de Comminges is often called the Mt. St. Michel of the Pyrenees and is the outstanding cultural and historic site of the Pyrenees. This is a free evening with a choice of eating in a restaurant or in the campground.  
(Breakfast included)

We go by taxi to the Gargas cave (5 miles) for a two hour visit.
This cave has paintings of wild horses, bison and mammoths but is exceptional for its 231 hand silhouettes made by blowing paint over hands pressed against the wall. These were painted about 18,000 years ago. After the tour, we go by taxi to the Montrejeau train station with all connections east and west. We should be there about noon and the trip is now over.

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