Cabane d'Arizes

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This beautiful round-trip hike, with a challenging start near the stunning Arizes waterfall, will take you to the foot of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre via a magnificent valley along the Ruisseau d'Arizes.

Details

n°5185874
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.22 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,470 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,470 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 5,699 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 4,229 ft
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Photos

Arizes Valley
The Cabane d'Arizes
Cap Sencours and Pic du Midi
Arizes Valley

Description of the walk

Park in the spaces at the side of the road on the RD 918 near the sign for the Cascade d'Arizes.

(S/E) Follow the GR®10C, which climbs to the right of the road, marked with red and white signs, towards the Cabanes de Tramazaygues. Pass the beautiful Cascade d'Arizes and continue the very steep climb through a deciduous forest.

After a few minutes’ effort, you pass under a high-voltage power line and arrive at these pretty huts with the Pic du Midi de Bigorre in the background. Turn right and cross the stream...

(1) Then head up to the left towards the Pont des Vaquès, following the GR®10C. After a slightly steep rocky section, you’ll soon reach the bridge.

(2) Leave the GR® and continue to the right towards the Cabane d'Arizes. Head up this beautiful valley at the foot of the Pic du Midi, keeping to the left bank of the main stream. After a few gentle climbs, you’ll easily reach the Cabane d’Arizes. On the other side of the stream: access to the Coume du Pic, the wide pass between Cap Sencours and the summit of the Pic du Midi.

(3) You can extend the walk by following the marked trail to Lac d’Arizes, about 250 m higher up, or even further up to the Col d’Arizes for a superb view.

The return journey on the RD 918 (S/E) follows the same route.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 4,229 ft - RD 918 near the - Adour du Tourmalet ou Adour de Gripp (ruisseau)
  2. 1 : mi 0.33 - alt. 4,652 ft - Cabanes de Tramazaygues
  3. 2 : mi 0.89 - alt. 5,098 ft - Pont des Vaquès
  4. 3 : mi 2.11 - alt. 5,699 ft - Cabane d'Arizes
  5. S/E : mi 4.22 - alt. 4,229 ft - Car park at the start

Notes

Make sure you wear good walking shoes.
Walking poles can be useful on both the descent and the ascent.

Water point at the Cabane d'Arizes (3)

Worth a visit

This hike is particularly worth the detour for the views of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre and the wide valley of the Ruisseau d'Arizes.

Option to extend the walk to Lac d'Arizes.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 5 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
ChristianQ
ChristianQ

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The reward after the challenging climb along the waterfall, with a constant view of the majestic Pic du Midi, makes it worth pushing on a little further to the lake.
Thank you for sharing this hike...

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JCCORMIER
JCCORMIER

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent hike in the sunshine.
After a 20-minute climb that really gets your calves working, the arrival at the first huts is exceptional: a few scattered huts, a stream flowing between them, with the Pic in the background.
The rest of the walk is easy, featuring several small streams flowing down from the peaks, allowing you to cool off along the way.
You can extend the walk to a small lake bearing the same name as the huts. This adds another 45 minutes to an hour’s walk, which isn’t necessarily worth it.
Absolute tranquillity guaranteed

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Pascalou0762
Pascalou0762

A superb hike
The route starts with a steep climb of 100 to 200 metres
At the end, the magic happens
View of the Pic du Midi
Not a difficult hike, around 3 hours there and back

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tinoambre
tinoambre

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello

I couldn’t park at the advertised starting point, so I drove a little further down on the left (200 m coming from La Mongie).
From there, follow the sign for Cabane d'Arizes and the yellow markings to point 1 (a path that climbs gently in the shade).
This path goes round the other side of the waterfall.
We climbed up with a superb view of the snow-capped Pic du Midi; we wanted to go to the lake but the weather was turning in, so we turned back.
On the way back, we passed by the waterfall. BEWARE: at this time of year there are lots of leaves on the ground and the descent is very slippery, even with very good shoes.
One final point: this hike is not to be undertaken in the height of summer heat, as the section from point 1 to the hut and the lake is completely exposed.
Enjoy the hike, everyone

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eva
eva

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We walked about halfway along the route.
Please note: due to the ongoing drought, the fallen leaves on the ground at the start of the walk near the Arizes waterfall make the path very slippery.

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pibeste
pibeste

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A beautiful view of the Pic du Midi.

You can reach Les Granges de Tramesaigues, a little further down, via a forest road – the actual start of the hike.

This is not worth it as the road is in poor condition... and it adds to the distance.

So do start from the sign by the roadside.

Yes, it’s a steep 20-minute climb, but there are worse ones.

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