Loop around Montfa

A beautiful hike on the Plantaurel massif which, from the village of Monfa, will take you on well-marked trails with beautiful climbs to discover surprising local habitats, beautiful views, the Roc du Cor, the Les Moulis Ecomuseum, the hamlet of Camarde, and the Couminge dolmen. You may see herds of geese, sheep, goats, donkeys and horses.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.00 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 406 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 406 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 619 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 317 m

Photos

Description of the walk

From Daumazan sur-Arize, head towards Montbrun-Bocage and, at the crossroads on the left, take the D114 to the village of Montfa. Park in the church car park: there are few spaces available.

(S/E) From the car park, take the road you arrived on, Route de la Castillane. At the Y-junction (cote352), continue to a bridge.

(1) Cross the stream, descend to the next bridge, cross it and climb up to the left for 100 m.

(2) Leave the road on the left, follow a track and arrive near the Fouche farm.

(3) Below the farm, climb up to the right along a well-marked path. Continue westwards, then turn left and you will come out onto the road, Chemin Fouche.

(4) Cross this road, continue along the path opposite, and join the road called Chemin Coudougnès. Follow it to the left until you reach the hamlet of Durrieux.

(5) At the entrance to this hamlet, turn right and continue to the Clouets crossroads.

(6) Continue straight ahead until you reach the car park of the Écomusée des Moulis.

(7) Turn right, then left, cross the Route de Mérignon (D15) with caution, and take the path towards "Cabanère".

(8) At the trail junction, go through a gate on the left and continue to the road leading to the Mouret farm.

(9) Take the path that dips to the right, under the road, cross the Camarade stream and turn sharply left towards the hamlet of Camarade.

(10) At the cemetery, turn left onto the D915 and follow it down into the valley.

(11) About a hundred metres after the hairpin bend, turn onto the path that climbs up to the left to the D15, then follow it to the right for about a hundred metres.

(12) Take the path on the left towards Couminge, pass through the hamlet and arrive at the dolmen.

(13) Continue straight ahead on the zigzagging path and join the D114.

(14) Follow it to the left to Castillane, turn right and arrive at the car park of the church of Montfa (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 431 m - Montfa church car park
  2. 1 : km 2.04 - alt. 320 m - D114 turn left and cross the next bridge.
  3. 2 : km 2.5 - alt. 317 m - Turn off after the second bridge.
  4. 3 : km 2.73 - alt. 350 m - Pass above the Fouche farm.
  5. 4 : km 3.92 - alt. 406 m - At the trail junction, continue straight ahead.
  6. 5 : km 4.83 - alt. 416 m - Hameau Durrieux, turn right.
  7. 6 : km 5.28 - alt. 418 m - At the Les Cloutets crossroads, go straight ahead.
  8. 7 : km 6.33 - alt. 555 m - Ecomuseum car park: go through the gate.
  9. 8 : km 6.93 - alt. 617 m - Trail junction on the left gate.
  10. 9 : km 7.55 - alt. 570 m - Mouret farm: pass under the road.
  11. 10 : km 8.38 - alt. 505 m - Hameau de Camarade: descend to the left.
  12. 11 : km 8.75 - alt. 478 m - Path on the left
  13. 12 : km 9.13 - alt. 507 m - Turn left onto the path.
  14. 13 : km 9.58 - alt. 560 m - Dolmen trail descending to the right
  15. 14 : km 10.49 - alt. 413 m - D114 back to the car park.
  16. S/E : km 11 - alt. 431 m - Montfa church car park

Notes

You will mainly be walking on the north side, so bring high-top shoes or gaiters in case of rain

Worth a visit

Visit the Les Moulis Ecomuseum and the Couminge dolmen.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
TrailerMan09
TrailerMan09

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello,
I don't understand some of the comments about access via the "castle".
Having been there myself, I can say that although the dogs may seem intimidating at first glance, they were actually very friendly. They didn't bother me, and their owners keep a close eye on them.
I had the opportunity to talk to one of them: they don't stop anyone from passing through, they are courteous and considerate, and the passage is free. The layout is also very nice. There is also a path that allows you to go around their house, which is particularly convenient.
It would therefore be entirely possible to modify the circular slightly. With a little common sense and courtesy, everyone could benefit.
In this context, the attitude adopted by the town hall raises questions: threatening legal action for a minor modification to the route seems disproportionate, when a simple and mutually agreed solution is possible. I sincerely pity the owners of the "castle".
As a reminder, defamation is punishable by law.
Apart from this point, the hike remains very pleasant: the trails are clean, well marked, and offer some very beautiful places to discover.

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digir
digir

Hello,
We did this hike yesterday, which cannot be done starting from the church via the communal path. An inconsiderate landowner decided that this path, which runs close to his property, was part of his land. The former mayor, whom we met, told us that legal action was underway. You have to follow the road to find the trail. The rest of the hike is easy and very pleasant.

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CH/MY
CH/MY

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello, I did this hike again on 12/12/25 and I would like to point out to everyone that the hike can still be done on the original route starting from the church, as the starting point is an old communal road leading to Daumazan (see the first deputy mayor of Montfa). The latter has taken legal action against the new owner of the "castle".
Any information you can provide will be welcome in order to reopen the path. I will forward it to the appropriate authorities.
I have changed the starting point; you must now take the D114 down to point 1.

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daniel 31
daniel 31

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Route completed on 9 November 2025.
A "grumpy" landowner is causing difficulties at the start of the original route. Alerted by your reviews, we therefore bypassed the problem by descending from the Montfa church car park to the hamlet of Castillane, just below, and turning right onto the D114, which took us back to point 2 on the Visirando map. From there, even without GPS, it was easy to follow the route, which is marked from start to finish. Just follow the yellow markings.
Daniel B

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User 12212364

⚠️This hike is currently unavailable.⚠️
For alternatives or other ideas for walks in the area, please contact the Arize-Lèze Tourist Office in Mas-d'Azil.

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LOS ESCAPATS
LOS ESCAPATS

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Problem already reported by some hikers: right at the start of the trail, we are blocked by a house with a large dog barring the path. The dog was threatening, but fortunately its owners called it back and we were able to continue our hike.

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PATRICE31800
PATRICE31800

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello, everyone. We went hiking in beautiful weather, enjoying a lovely, hilly circular on a well-marked trail with short stretches of road. Most of the hike was in the forest, with some beautiful views of the Pyrenees and the valleys. We saw geese, Angora goats, donkeys and horses, and along the forest trails we found chanterelle mushrooms and sheep's foot mushrooms. Thank you for sharing.

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User 3076992

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : No

Right from the start of the route (300m), the path passes through private property, which is off-limits; it is not possible to follow the route as described in the guidebook.

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