Country:
City:
(S/E) From the campsite, follow the D14E2 road towards La Salvetat for 200m; you’ll soon reach the hamlet of Rouquié. Continue to the top of the main street.
(1) Take the hairpin bend to the left and follow the path uphill. Pass an old bread oven on your right. The ground becomes wet for a few dozen metres; this is due to an unchannelled spring. When you reach the signposts, take the path to the right.
On your left, walk alongside large retaining walls made of beautifully laid dry stone, whilst on the right, a clearing offers a lovely view of Lake Raviège. A few hundred metres further on, the path joins a wider, almost level forest track. Continue along this path until you reach a crossroads in full sunlight.
(2) Then leave the wide road onto natural terrain, staying on level ground – do not go up to the left, but stay on the same contour line by taking the narrower natural path.
The gently descending track passes by an old ruined house, situated below, whilst streams cross its path via culverts. Here and there, looking into the undergrowth, you can spot the glistening reflections of water, signs of their presence as well as that of springs.
After about 500 metres, the path turns sharply to the right, down a steep slope.
(3) From here on, it is a fairly narrow tractor track, with a deep gully running down the centre caused by the uncontrolled flow of rainwater at this point. For about 200 metres, the descent is somewhat uncomfortable due to the uneven surface, but it is safe. The slope then levels out, and the path widens. It runs parallel to the Rec Rouge (the word ‘rec’ means stream in Occitan), situated some fifty metres below. On the upstream side, the path once again passes ancient walls, on which beautiful ferns can be seen in places.
You will then come across the first houses, signalling the proximity of the hamlet, and continue quietly along the path towards the A-road. About thirty metres from the road, take the sunken path that climbs up to the first crossroads in the hamlet of Rouquié.
(1) Gently head back down the path you took on the way up to return to the campsite which served as the starting point for the hike (S/E).
Visorando Member
Difficult 
