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Park in the local authority car park on the right on the outskirts of the village (or, before 9.30 am in high season, in the village itself, in one of the public or private car parks). Car parks cost €7 per day (in 2023). N.B.: From around the end of October, public car parks are free.
(S/E) Walk through the village, passing the Maison du Parc on your left.
(1) At the first Fork in the road, immediately after the Maison du Parc, ignore the road leading to the unmissable cirque facing due south and carry on straight ahead, slightly uphill, towards the Plateau de Bellevue. Pass the church and the cemetery on your right and continue uphill. Leave the village behind and begin the hike proper.
Take this pleasant, little-used path on the left bank higher up, heading due south. Below on the left, you can see the CRS Montagne station and the Brioule Bridge, over which the stream of walkers passes via the classic route. From time to time, a signpost indicates the Bellevue Plateau. Gradually, the vegetation becomes denser.
(2) Just over a kilometre past the cemetery (15 mins), the first hairpin bend marks the start of the climb alongside the Ruisseau des Entortes. A first series of short hairpin bends, followed a little later by a second, takes you up the 170-metre ascent.
(3) At an altitude of 1,708 metres, you reach the Bellevue Plateau, a beautiful summer pasture of grass and rocks where herds graze from June to October. Opposite, there is a view of the cirque. Do not head deeper into the plateau as you ascend (towards the Port de Boucharo and Spain), but keep to the left on the eastern ridge and enjoy exceptional views of the cirque, the foothills of the Piméné, the Gave des Tourettes valley and the Prairie de la Courade below. Leave the plateau via a clearly visible path heading south-west and begin a fairly rapid descent to the splendid Gave des Tourettes.
(4) At the 1,634-metre mark, above a very beautiful waterfall, cross via the Planette footbridge or turn right just before the bridge and climb back up about fifty metres; you’ll come across the waterfall, which has a substantial flow. Return to the bridge.
Immediately after crossing the bridge, look for a well-marked but barely visible path, starting off to the right and heading steeply south-east (do not head due east towards the Bois du Bourlic and La Prade, nor along the lower slope of the Bosquet Long, but rather towards the higher ground and the cirque). The first fifty metres are not straightforward, with vegetation and small rocks to climb over (level 1, F; not exposed).
Continue along this narrow path, still heading towards the cirque, keeping an eye on a lower path below and also the one at the bottom of the valley.
Reach the centre of the cirque without difficulty, crossing the path leading up to the Échelle des Sarradets (and towards the Brèche de Roland).
(5) If you have enough time, don’t miss the detour to the Grande Waterfall. Return via one of the main paths to the Hôtellerie du Cirque.
(6) To the left of the Hôtellerie, take the wide track that leads back to Gavarnie.
(7) Continue through the built-up areas of the village of Gavarnie until you reach the Pont Brioule, then cross it.
(1) Return to the car park (S/E).
Visorando Member
Difficult 
Very difficult 
