In the heart of Les Garrotxes

A beautiful excursion in the heart of Les Garrotxes (a wild and little-known region of the Eastern Pyrenees) to discover two of its villages, Ayguatébia-Talau and Caudiès-de-Conflent.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.43 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 485 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 483 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,758 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,323 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the entrance to the village of Ayguatébia-Talau, Rue de la Mairie.

(S/E) From the car park, head north to take the stairs opposite. Turn right at the intersection and continue along Rue de l'Église until you reach an intersection where you will turn left onto Rue Carrer del Cantou.
You will reach an intersection and pick up the yellow markings.

(1) Follow your route on the left and turn right at the intersection onto Carrer del Rouqueta.
Stay on the yellow markings. Pass Mas del Romeu and reach an intersection just before Mas del Balmat.

(2) Turn right towards Caudiès-de-Conflent.
At Mas del Pau, turn right, climbing up through the mountain pastures, and continue until you reach the D4f road.

(3) Cross the road and the Caudiès River to enter the village.
Head towards Saint-Martin Church. Once you reach the church, continue to follow the signs until you reach an intersection where several routes are available.

(4) Turn right onto the Ayguatébia route and cross a pine forest.
Stay on the yellow markings. Further on, leave the Pic de la Soccarade trail to follow your route and join the D4f road.

(5) Follow the road on your left. A few hundred metres later, ignore the path that branches off to the left and take the one that descends to the right.

(6) Your descent will take you through a hazelnut forest to the Col de Joell road.

(7) Head towards Ayguatébia on the right and you will reach the Col de Joell.

(8) Take the marked descent on the left and rejoin the Col de Joell road. Turn left and follow it for a few metres before leaving it at the intersection.

(9) Descend to the right. Pass the Oratory of Saint Sebastian and rejoin Rue du Col de Joell, which you will take to the right to return to the starting point.

(1) All that remains is to retrace your steps in the opposite direction to complete your hike. (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,323 m - Car park at the entrance to the village, Rue de la Mairie
  2. 1 : km 0.39 - alt. 1,375 m - Intersection of Carrer del Rouqueta
  3. 2 : km 3.15 - alt. 1,577 m - Intersection of Mas del Balmat
  4. 3 : km 4.76 - alt. 1,630 m - Route D4f
  5. 4 : km 4.96 - alt. 1,652 m - Turn right towards Ayguatébia.
  6. 5 : km 8.35 - alt. 1,595 m - Route D4f
  7. 6 : km 8.59 - alt. 1,581 m - Intersection/Abandonment D4f
  8. 7 : km 9.04 - alt. 1,488 m - Route du Col de Joell
  9. 8 : km 9.45 - alt. 1,500 m - Col ou Coll de Joell (1501m)
  10. 9 : km 9.61 - alt. 1,474 m - Abandon Rue du col de Joell
  11. S/E : km 10.43 - alt. 1,323 m - Car park at the entrance to the village, Rue de la Mairie

Notes

Worth a visit

You can reach the village of Railleu after the crossing point (5).

Village of Talau (part of Ayguatébia)

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
Esperal
Esperal

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 05, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk mainly through the forest and old villages.

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Vejapi
Vejapi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A very pleasant walk, with beautiful forest and meadow landscapes and the picturesque village of Ayguatébia.

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bernard coulomb
bernard coulomb

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike where forests alternate with meadows covered in broom. The flowers are truly spectacular at this time of year!!! Intoxicating.
The elderflower orchids and, above all, the magnificent burnt orchids were the icing on the cake...
No problems with GPS
No difficult paths.
The village of Ayguetabia is remote and sleepy, but pleasant, and only 25 km from Font Romeu.

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smashdc
smashdc
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

🥰 In the heart of the Garrotxes, arid and rocky lands 🌍
👉 Beautiful views of Canigou along the way :-)

⛰ 11.6 km 535 m elevation gain/loss
⚡️ Highlights of the hike:
A beautiful wild excursion into the Garrotxes valley starting from Ayguatébia!
The road to get there is long... very long!
15 km from Evol on small, winding mountain roads with very limited visibility. It was better on the way back ;-)
In Catalan, a garrotxa (plural: garrotxes) is hard, rough, ungrateful land.
It didn't seem that arid, but rather green and with magnificent landscapes just after Caudiès-de-Conflent.
I've rarely seen anything so beautiful.
I was very happy with this hike, knowing that I also went to Evol and another village nearby with similar landscapes that were just as beautiful (videos to come).
It's quite exposed, so there's a risk of strong winds :-o
Nice little climb at the beginning, given that there's a lot of flat ground anyway :-)
Tip: 5 villages in the Garrotxes with typical stone houses with bread ovens and slate roofs.

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titi670
titi670

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route through unspoilt countryside, varied landscapes and charming little villages.

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lolo36
lolo36

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you very much for this magnificent hike in a region untouched by mass tourism!
We did a little extra circular loop from point (3) to point (4) to go to the Caudiès pond (yellow markings, dotted pink line on the IGN map). I also recommend a short visit to Ayguatébia, particularly a quick trip to the St Antoine oratory (from the church, go down the street then the stairs on the left and follow the sign and the path through the ruins at the beginning).
Note: the route has been changed between (4) and (5), at coordinates 1744 and 1707, where you should follow the detour marked with a solid line on the IGN map. Similarly, the route from (6) is not entirely accurate in relation to the terrain, but the difference is not too significant.

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Tulear1956
Tulear1956

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route in the heart of unspoilt countryside (we only encountered a shepherd and a trail runner along the entire route). The paths had been mowed along almost the entire route. Be careful when leaving Ayguatébia, as the trail is not marked at a fork where we turned left onto a descending trail when we should have taken the ascending trail on the right (the yellow mark is a little too far away).

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tchaul31
tchaul31

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike, with very varied landscapes over 12 km... no major difficulties, easily done with children (aged 10 and 13) in 4½ hours, including a lunch break. Very well marked, but the GPS route is still helpful. A wonderful discovery, thank you for this route!!!

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MelanyL
MelanyL

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great hike! Beautiful scenery, between valleys and forests, views of the mountains and passing through pretty (remote) villages. Very few people when we did this hike, so it was very quiet , very well marked paths.

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BADADEI
BADADEI

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A very beautiful and varied route, through woodland (guaranteed coolness) but with stunning views. Well-maintained trail – thank you to those who worked on it – on this Sunday in early August, we surprisingly didn't encounter any other hikers, and the condition of the paths shows that it is very rarely used.For hikers looking for beautiful trails with beautiful, peaceful landscapes, this one is for you. In the village of Caudies-de-Conflent, take two minutes to visit the small cemetery next to the little church (located above the wash house).
The access road by car from OLETTE to AYGUATEBIA is a beautiful, picturesque, winding, dizzying mountain road that requires careful driving.

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