3 days in the Central Pyrenees Park from Cauterets

Hello Daegalen
That's a shame about the incident.
It's good that you adapted the route to the terrain and physical abilities of the group.
It looks like there's still snow at higher altitudes.

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Date of your route : Jun 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

I did this trip in early June, and it was magnificent, but much more difficult than advertised.

On the first day, I didn't do the loop and went straight to the refuge. As a result, I only covered 8 km but climbed 1,000 metres. I'm used to hiking, but this was really difficult. Maybe it was the heat...

The second day was easier because it's not all uphill, so even though you end up climbing the same amount, you're less tired. However, be careful on the path: from 2,400 metres upwards, there were still patches of snow, and even though I was careful, I slipped on a snowdrift and fell 10 metres down the mountainside. I can't tell you how scared I was....

On the third day, the Col des Mulets was impassable, so I went straight down to Cauterets.

Apart from my fatigue and my accident, I really enjoyed this route, which offers magnificent landscapes with water everywhere.

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Hello

Pyrenees National Park regulations.

Pets
- Dogs are not permitted in the core area of the Pyrenees National Park, even if kept on a leash.
- Arrange for someone to look after your dogs while you are hiking.
- Here is the address of a boarding kennel or dog daycare centre:
- Néouvielle Nature Reserve in Orédon (Aure Valley), from 1 July to 15 September.
- Information available from Aragnouet Town Hall - Tel.: +33 (0)5 62 39 62 63

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Hello, is this route suitable for dogs?

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Date of your route : Jul 31, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A great spot and breathtaking scenery. A beautiful variety of landscapes.
In my opinion, the circular section on the first day isn't necessary, as it leads to a ridge that can be reached by cable car, so the view isn't that great. I would say that simply going to Lake Hiléou and doing "only" a 3-hour walk on the first day to get your legs going, avoiding the Ilhéou pass, is not a bad idea. But it's still a circular route from the refuge, so it's up to you.
The bivouac at Lac d'Hileou is great, it's difficult to find a flat spot but there are some.
For the second day, I would recommend another route, turning left after the Col de La Haugade, as the path leading to Lac de Pourtet is extremely rocky, and you'll be walking on nothing but pebbles. The other valley is greener. Camp not far from the Wallon refuge, which is very beautiful and has plenty of space to feel quite isolated. However, after finishing the route, I would recommend camping at Lake Aratille. Allow an extra hour and a half of climbing from the Wallon refuge on your second day's walk, but it's really worth it. It's quite high up, so very windy, but there's obviously plenty of space to pitch your tent.
One option would be to skip the return trip to Lake Opale on the second day and head straight to Lake Aratille, thus starting the third day with fewer kilometres than planned, because although the last day is mostly downhill, it is very long. But arriving in the morning at the Oulettes de Gaube refuge (by far one of the most magical refuges I have ever seen) after feeling tiny at the Col des Mulets is a spectacular sight.
The end of the hike is on much more touristy paths from Lac de Gaube to Pont d'Espagne, less interesting in terms of change of scenery but still very beautiful.
All in all, a fairly challenging hike, difficulty 7.5/10! Mostly on rocky paths. Some fairly dizzying passages: walking sticks are a must. The welcome in the three refuges is excellent (I haven't tried it, but I wouldn't recommend sleeping at the Wallon refuge, which seems a bit like a factory given the number of beds, whereas the bivouac area is great). You come across lots of animals grazing. My only regret is that I only saw one marmot...

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Date of your route : Jul 27, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello everyone,
A quick review of this hike:
We are two brothers aged 20 and 27 and did this route in July 2020, camping along the way. It was our first hike, so our comments are those of inexperienced people ^^. We are quite athletic and, to be honest, we thought hiking would be something rather 'easy... after this first experience, we have to admit that hikers are machines! For these three days, we each carried a 13kg rucksack, and we think that's the maximum, or even less if possible (around 10kg should be fine).

Day 1: What a tough day! It was almost entirely uphill and very hot. There was a pretty waterfall along the way. There were lots of people going in the other direction, as it seems you can take the chairlift up to the Crête du Lys and then walk down. In our case, it wasn't intentional, but we arrived at Lake Ilhéou without going via the ridge. Once at the lake, we didn't regret the hours spent climbing at all! It is magnificent, and swimming there after a long day of sweating is priceless! After setting up the tent, we walked along the ridge from the lake, without our bags (what a pleasure!). It was early evening and there was no one there. Once at the top, the view is truly magnificent, the mountain is beautiful, and you feel very small. However, on our way back down to the lake at dusk, we got caught in a storm and had to run to the tent for fear that it would blow away without us in it ^^ So, lesson number one: in half an hour, the weather can change completely.

Day 2: Departure for the Col de la Haugade, which is a steep climb. It's a steep climb right from the start, which is a great way to begin the day. We found this part a little dangerous. At times, it felt more like rock climbing than hiking. So you have to take it slowly and be careful not to slip. In the absence of markings, small piles of stones show the way. It's a steep climb but not very long, and once you reach the top, the view is magnificent once again. Many people cross the pass and come back down, but here we "cross" it (I'm not sure if I'm explaining this clearly) and make our way through the rocks to reach Lac de l'Embarras, where there is hardly anyone on this side of the route. We then climb up to Lake Pourtet. There's no swimming here, as there's no access to the water and, above all, the lake is almost black in a very mineral landscape... we can feel that we're starting to be at a bit of an altitude. We had the opportunity to see a few marmots at this point in the route.
Then we started to descend... and honestly, the descent seemed endless. We thought we would do a circular loop around the Opale lakes, but it was really impossible for us. We finally arrived at the Marcadeau refuge around 7 p.m., completely exhausted. Here, the landscape is completely different, very wooded.

Day 3: After sleeping surrounded by cows, horses and sheepdogs, we started the third day thinking that, given the previous days, we wouldn't be able to follow the route without it turning into a painful physical ordeal. So, to keep things enjoyable, we bypassed the Col d'Arratille to go directly to Pont d'Espagne (which hurt our egos but did our legs a world of good ^^), a magnificent path through wooded scenery... very pleasant. Once at Pont d'Espagne, it is possible to reach Lake Gaube, which we absolutely wanted to see. We were very tempted to take the chairlift between Pont d'Espagne and Gaube, but we resisted and the climb was easy, taking about an hour (we were starting to get into a good walking rhythm on the third day). Lake Gaube is very beautiful but very, very crowded.
Then we descended, taking an hour to return to Pont d'Espagne and then two hours to return to the La Raillère car park (not one hour as indicated on the sign at Pont d'Espagne, which is incorrect). It was a magnificent path surrounded by waterfalls, but we were still glad to arrive at the car park ^^

Conclusion: a magnificent hike that is definitely worth it but requires a good level of fitness. As beginners, we were clearly unable to do the Opal Lakes or the Col d'Aratille. Honestly, to make it physically enjoyable while still doing the entire route, it would be a good idea for beginners to plan for four days.

A big thank you to the person who posted this route, it was a wonderful first experience.

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Date of your route : Aug 03, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Good evening!
We're leaving for our three-day hike on Thursday 😊
I have subscribed to the IGN map, can we access it online even during the hike?
I'm also unsure about points 19 and 20 in Spain, as I don't have a map anymore...
Is it enough to have it on my phone?
Thank you 😉

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Great, thank you for everything! Your information will be useful to me. I plan to make reservations tomorrow for dinner, and we will have a tent to sleep in.
Indeed, the hygiene rules will be the same and we will anticipate all that!

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Thank you very much for this information, I will take a closer look!
Hoping this time to be able to travel down from Brittany to the Pyrenees with everything that's going on...

Bye!

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Good evening,
I find the description of this hike very motivating, but have you found a way to bypass the Wallon refuge? Is it possible to get something to eat the day before at the previous refuge?
We are leaving next week and I hope we will find a solution.

Thanks in advance!

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Indeed, the alternative may be a good solution.
Thank you very much!

Cyril

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Thank you very much for your quick reply.
But that makes for a very (too) challenging second stage, more than 20 km and about 2,000 m of elevation gain, if I'm not mistaken.

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Hello,
I would like to do this circular in August 2020, but the Wallon refuge is closed until summer 2021.
Is there an alternative?
Pushing on to the Oulettes de Gaube refuge seems like a long way to me, doesn't it?
Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Cyril

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Date of your route : Aug 03, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Three days of hiking together and camping. It was our first time, and we quickly learned that the mountains are tough! On the first day, it was uphill all the way, which took a lot of effort for novices like us, but despite the heavy bags and 8½ hours of walking (we got lost a few times), we arrived safely in Ilhéou to walk around the ridge (without the bags, which felt great).
It was well worth the effort; it really is a beautiful route.
The second day seemed easier, probably because of the training we had the day before. We went up and down, saw magnificent lakes, and walked for 8½ hours because we got lost again (it's not always easy to follow the cairns; you have to keep your eyes peeled and they're not always there). Lake Opale is a marvel! (Don't stop at the two before it, which are rather average).
On the third day, after a night of little sleep due to mild altitude sickness or the food or the water—in short, a difficult night—we set off for Lake Arratille and, as usual, got lost following the cairns, led by a group in front of us who ultimately had no idea where they were going (never follow others!). In short, we spent an hour off the trail climbing the mountain, only to slide back down on our backsides because it was so slippery and dangerous with our rucksacks... until we finally found the path (which made sense in the end, we're just very novice in this area). When we reached the lake, we finally returned to the Wallon refuge for fear that my stomach ache would get worse at the top of the pass, where not many people go (too bad, it was the last big challenge, we'll be back). Finally, from the Wallon refuge to the Pont d'Espagne and the Raillère car park, it's still very beautiful and a piece of cake after two much tougher days.
A great challenge, thanks to the person who created this hike guide. It's a feast for the eyes, thighs, shoulders and calves. The beauty of the mountains has to be earned!
Finally, don't expect this hike to be just a quiet, well-marked trail. There are some really dangerous paths (you don't want to slip!) and the markings... If you're a novice and not very good at orienteering like us, don't hesitate to ask those who know before you get lost.

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Thank you!

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