Above Égat and Targasonne

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A circular walk for a family outing, yet offering a magnificent view of Cerdagne from La Solana (with marmots as a bonus).
Allow a good hour for the climb and the same for the descent.

Details

n°2453358
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.72 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 968 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 948 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 6,362 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 5,459 ft
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Photos

Panorama of La Solana
The marmot
Fountain
Dolmen de l'Arrel and path

Description of the walk

The route is described starting from the village church.

(S/E) Head north and follow Rue des Pyrénées (uphill). At a fork in the road, leave Rue des Sorbières on your right and you’ll soon come to another fork in the road.

(1) Leave the Camí Ramader (the return route) on your right. Then turn left onto Rue des Narcisses, towards the campsite. Follow this street without heading towards the campsite. At the very end, follow the GRP® Tour de Cerdagne, heading due west (yellow and red markings). This path runs alongside the campsite on the mountain side and leads, along the hillside, towards the village of Targasonne

(2) Take a road to the right, heading uphill.

(3) Leave the GRP®. Take the tarmac road on the right. The climb is quite steep but presents no significant difficulty. This road, reserved for authorised users – mainly shepherds and paragliders – is very little used. Follow it for about half an hour.

(4) Just as the road bends to the left and crosses the stream again, a dirt track (more or less passable by vehicle) continues straight ahead. We recommend taking a short break here and crossing the stream to visit the pretty Arrel fountain, next to which stands an authentic dolmen (then retrace your steps).

Continue a little way along this track, but do not cross the culvert (horizontal pipes). Leave the track and head sharply to the right, following the fence eastwards; a path runs alongside this fence through the pastures and then between woodland and clearings.

(5) You’ll come out onto a wide, motorable dirt track at another ‘Canadian passage’, which you’ll need to cross to the right, heading due south now. The track leads downhill to the Solana promontory. We recommend visiting this promontory as the view from there is truly vast. A colony of marmots has made its home just below it.

(6) Continue along the track, which becomes steeper and features a hairpin bend.

(7) Almost directly below the headland is a pretty fountain. Continue along the path until you reach a picnic area with a barbecue and a fountain. Then head back up to join the Chemin de la Porteille.

(8) Take this road to the right, heading due south.

(1) Carry on straight ahead, heading due south, until you reach the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 5,459 ft - Église d'Egat
  2. 1 : mi 0.18 - alt. 5,535 ft - Crossroads at the end of the circular loop
  3. 2 : mi 1.24 - alt. 5,610 ft - Dirt track
  4. 3 : mi 1.42 - alt. 5,682 ft - Tarmac road
  5. 4 : mi 2.38 - alt. 6,273 ft - Leave the road - Fontaine et dolmen de l'Arrel
  6. 5 : mi 2.65 - alt. 6,319 ft - Canadian Passage
  7. 6 : mi 2.81 - alt. 6,302 ft - Solana Headland
  8. 7 : mi 3.54 - alt. 5,889 ft - Fountain
  9. 8 : mi 4.21 - alt. 5,686 ft - Back onto the tarmac
  10. S/E : mi 4.72 - alt. 5,463 ft - Église d'Egat

Notes

There is a fountain at waypoint (7); the spring water flowing from it is not considered safe to drink, but it is no different from the spring water you can find anywhere in the mountains! There are also fountains near waypoints (4) and (8), under the same conditions.

Alternative route: after (8), you have the option of turning left onto thesecond street on the left, Rue Pierre Rosell, which is extended by a small path leading to Rue des Gentianes. From there, by turning right twice, you can head towards the Égat Tower (Tour des Maures) via a small path along the ridge which leads to Rue des Pyrénées and the church.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 25 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
User 6697406

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A brilliant walk, rewarded with a magnificent view on arrival at the headland
The climb up the tarmac road isn’t that easy for those who aren’t very fit, but it’s well worth the effort

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User 25353260

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We had trouble finding our way round because the directions weren’t very clear.
To start with, it would be helpful to simply indicate that you should take the fork to the right after following the first sign for the campsite; it’s not very clear.
Between points 4 and 5, we didn’t realise that the fence on the right was so close. We carried on to see the fountain and the menhir and kept going, when we should have turned back and followed the fence on the right.
The ‘Canadian crossing’ is actually just a barrier to prevent animals from getting through, and we thought it was more like a suspension bridge. So we crossed it when we shouldn’t have. We were also able to cross the stream to get a closer look at the fountain and the menhir.
We finally found our way back onto the path after a few detours.
Otherwise, the view is magnificent and the walk is pleasant. We didn’t see any marmots.

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Camille31330
Camille31330

No, no marmots.

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bobca
bobca

Thank you for this very nice report!
So... no marmots?

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Camille31330
Camille31330

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that climbs a little, then a lot, and descends gently ;-)
It starts gently with the climb up from the village, then continues along a delightful little path.
Then you tackle the road, yes, you tackle it because it climbs quite a bit.
During the climb, we saw paragliders in flight and two beautiful vultures three-quarters of the way up, one of them very close by (they really are big, and so are their beaks!), but it's okay, they saw that we were going to make it, so they stopped circling above us ;-)
Then we reached the top of a small plateau with the "Font de l'Arrel", perfect for cooling off!
We then took the little path that led us to the cross with a beautiful view, then continued downhill peacefully towards the starting point.

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User 27305444

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Good route for beginners

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Vejapi
Vejapi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pleasant hike above the meadows, through the forest, passing herds of cows and horses along the way.

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Chloe et la tribue
Chloe et la tribue

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

We went hiking with our 12- and 15-year-old teenagers on 30 August. The trail is easy and pleasant on the first and last sections. The middle section is a concrete road, which is much less pleasant, even though there isn't much traffic. Our daughter had a hard time on this part because it's very steep and in full sun. That said, the route was easy to follow and do. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes instead of the 3 hours planned. (No breaks were possible because it started raining just as we had planned to take a break.)

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meringue34
meringue34

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

the start is pleasant above Egat with a beautiful view of Eyne and Odeillo.
There is then a long stretch on the road with no shade, which detracts from the enjoyment of the hike (points 3 to 4).
The rest of the route is more interesting on a dirt track, with a beautiful view at the Croix d'Egat.
There is a trail that branches off to the right before point 2 and then runs alongside the Targasona stream to rejoin the road at the ford, which could bypass the road section. Worth trying

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ciscou
ciscou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route with beautiful views of the
Cerdagne, a slightly steep paved section but easy access.

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antoinegeli
antoinegeli

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, wonderful weather.

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bobca
bobca

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sosomamie66
sosomamie66

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you, Visorando, for the magnificent panorama

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herve13650
herve13650

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It's a shame there weren't any marmots, even though we looked hard, taking our time and keeping quiet. Beautiful view, easy walk.

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bobca
bobca

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