Around Saint-Michel de Cuxa

de fr

A hike featuring varied landscapes and trails where the use of a GPS is essential. The climb up the Riu Merder is quite tricky as the path is constantly damaged by flooding, and this walk should be cancelled if the river is high enough. You must reconnoitre the route before taking participants there!

Details

n°27259572
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.01 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 457 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 457 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 797 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 436 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐
    Area: Pyrenees
  • ⚐ District: Codalet (66500)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 42.595134° / E 2.415986°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2348ET, 2349ET, 2349ETR
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Description of the walk

Park in the car park at Saint-Michel de Cuxa Abbey.

(S/E) Head towards the abbey, take the path on the right and cross the Liliterà. Join the canal.

(1) Leave the path and follow the track to the right along the canal. At the junction, turn left to cross the canal. You’ll reach another junction; take a quick left then right to follow a track that crosses the Còrrec de Corts and turns sharply right. First turn left then right to follow a track that crosses the Còrrec de Corts and turns sharply right.

(2) Leave the path to cross the canal above the Rec de Boera. Caution: no guardrail! Then follow the canal and cross the canal bridge over the Riu Merder.

(3) Head up the Riu Merder, turning left.

(4) Leave the path on the left to head up the river: this is where the going gets tough.

(5) Turn left to move away slightly from the river and continue climbing along a path you’ve found.

(6) At the crossroads, turn left and head northwards: the landscape gradually opens up. Join the D27.

(7) Follow it to the left for a few metres, then cross it to take a path heading in the opposite direction. About a hundred metres further on, turn left towards Roc del Ram.

(8) Retrace your steps and continue the route. Reach a junction (elevation 798) and turn left.

(9) Watch out for the path branching off to the right to head back down to Taurinya. Return to the D27.

(10) Cross the road and take the path opposite. At the junction after the first houses, go straight on along Carrer de la Torre.

(11) Turn left onto Cami del Canigó then right into the first street (Carrer Nou). Turn left onto Carrer del Baus, take the first right and turn right again into the cul-de-sac. Continue along the path which leads straight onto the D27. Turn right and negotiate the bend.

(12) Leave the road and follow the wide track to the right. After a hairpin bend to the left, take the path on the left (elevation 563) which leads back to the D27.

(13) Walk alongside it on the right for a few metres, then leave it to follow a path on the right. At the three-way junction, turn left. Then turn left at a 90° angle towards the abbey. Return to the D27 and follow it to the right to the car park /A::.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 440 m - Abbey car park
  2. 1 : km 0.61 - alt. 485 m - Canal, fork to the right
  3. 2 : km 1.83 - alt. 485 m - Crossing the canal
  4. 3 : km 2.6 - alt. 489 m - Crossroads, on the left
  5. 4 : km 3.41 - alt. 519 m - Start of the climb up the river
  6. 5 : km 4.41 - alt. 581 m - Climb up the path
  7. 6 : km 5.65 - alt. 728 m - Crossroads
  8. 7 : km 6.89 - alt. 742 m - D27
  9. 8 : km 7.14 - alt. 745 m - Roc del Ram
  10. 9 : km 8.04 - alt. 778 m - Three-way junction, turn right
  11. 10 : km 8.82 - alt. 636 m - D27
  12. 11 : km 9.35 - alt. 554 m - Junction on the Cami del Canigo
  13. 12 : km 9.95 - alt. 515 m - End of route
  14. 13 : km 11.07 - alt. 486 m - D27
  15. S/E : km 12.01 - alt. 440 m - Abbey car park

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 6 reviews
Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.8 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
User 26182412

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful route. The only downside is that it's best to rely on your GPS, especially for "detail 4". It's very easy to stray from the path... it happened to me 😁!
Still a nice hike, though.

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Flo et Jéjé
Flo et Jéjé

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk! No wind! Took 4 hours.

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BARRABES
BARRABES

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We went on this walk in fine weather. (A car park has been created near the church, which makes parking easier.) The well-marked trail takes us past numerous dry-stone huts. The view of Mont Canigou is magnificent. Due to a lack of time at point 10, we took the D619 road to point 14. We followed the route map to reach the renovated La Chapelle directly, which is well worth a visit. There we had lunch in the shaded and very well-equipped picnic area. From here, the return path becomes quite stony in places but poses no major problems.

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luctitine
luctitine

Overall rating : 3 / 5

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

From the fourth to the fifth kilometre, it was very difficult to find our way. With no signposts along the route, after trudging along for over fifteen minutes, we decided to climb through the bushes to reach the path further up. After that, it was plain sailing; I wouldn’t recommend this to families with young children because of that missing section.

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DanOll
DanOll

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A wide variety of landscapes and routes – definitely worth a hike, BUT be careful: the path isn’t clear between points 3 and 6 (especially between 4 and 5): you’ll have to feel your way quite a bit.

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PAT le lion
PAT le lion

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A great route for those who enjoy a challenge: a steep climb after the tarmac start, followed by a lovely section along the ridges consisting entirely of rock – best avoided if it’s raining!

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