Pilate's Balcony

fr

A round trip to discover the spectacular Balcón de Pilatos.

The more adventurous can venture up for the superb views that give the place its name, but there are no marked paths and the slope is severe.

Details

n°29045754
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.22 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 115 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 115 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 342 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 275 m
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Photos

An impassable valley
The balcony
The barrier crossed at the start
A stretch of water

Description of the walk

The starting point is close to the shooting range road, at the start of the runway.

(S/E) Take the track to the south-east. It bends to the right towards a lake.

(1) At the pond, continue left, South-Eastwards, until you reach a crossroads.

(2) Continue South.

(3) At the next crow's-foot, turn left onto the main track, heading South-East until you reach a Y junction.

(4) Turn left at an acute angle, heading East, and reach a crow's-foot.

(5) Turn right, heading South/South-East, to reach the next fork.

(6) Leave the main track on the right, following the field on your right.

(7) After a wide right-hand bend, fork left onto a faint track that follows the valley southwards. Continue for approx. 300 m.

(8) Turn left and cross the bottom of the valley, then follow the 340-metre mark at the foot of the slope, skirting the Balcón de Pilatos to the North. Stop about 100 m before you reach the stream descending from the right.

(9) After enjoying the view, turn around and retrace your steps back to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 287 m - Start of the track
  2. 1 : km 1.8 - alt. 290 m - Lake
  3. 2 : km 2.21 - alt. 279 m - Crossing tracks
  4. 3 : km 2.35 - alt. 279 m - Left fork
  5. 4 : km 4.24 - alt. 301 m - Y-crossing
  6. 5 : km 4.49 - alt. 300 m - Right towards South-East
  7. 6 : km 4.89 - alt. 307 m - Secondary track on the right
  8. 7 : km 5.43 - alt. 333 m - Start of the off-piste section
  9. 8 : km 5.73 - alt. 339 m - Left turn
  10. 9 : km 7.12 - alt. 339 m - Waypoint
  11. S/E : km 14.22 - alt. 287 m - Back to the car park

Notes

There is no water on the way.

Reviews and comments

3.6 / 5
Based on 3 reviews
Reliability of the description
3.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.3 / 5
Route interest
3.7 / 5
MarineJ
MarineJ

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Please note that the starting point for the hike is a prohibited car park. You need specific authorisation from the park to park there! 3/4 of the walk is on the road accessible to vehicles, so we started the walk at point 5 (authorised parking). Routes 7 to 9 take you through a densely vegetated area with no visible path and no clear goal. The walk ends in the middle of nowhere, although the view of the Pilatos balcony is very nice.

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Gaingain
Gaingain

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did the walk without meeting a single person, which was very pleasant.
Without a GPX file, I find it difficult to follow the route, especially the last part, which is off-path.
One minor drawback is that the route stops in the middle of nowhere; I would have preferred it to lead us to a viewpoint.

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Mofe
Mofe

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Good guidance with the GPX file
No one at this time
Thanks for the route

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