Between valleys and hillsides in Cologne

Date of your route : May 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

bucolic landscape; charming village; easy route

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Date of your route : Apr 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Route taken on Friday, 18 April 2025.
Very few people around at this time of year. We only came across two hikers. The route runs alongside fields and it is sometimes difficult to avoid walking on ploughed land. Not sure everyone will like this.
Using the Visorando map with GPS positioning was crucial on a few occasions.
The route is mostly open (avoid when it's windy. Expect to get very hot in summer) and offers wide panoramic views and the snow-capped Pyrenees. However, there is nothing spectacular or remarkable apart from the market hall in Cologne, the bucolic square around the church in Thoux and the deserted and peaceful lake at Thoux Saint-Circq (probably very different in high season).

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Date of your route : Feb 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lots of ups and downs, and after 15 km, you really start to feel tired!
We had some nice encounters, including the beekeeper in En Bideau
The section between points 12 and 13, along the stream, was very muddy (this was the only part of the hike).

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Date of your route : Nov 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Great sunshine for this lovely ride through the Gers countryside. Nothing too difficult, a few climbs but overall it's fine. Too much tarmac for my liking but they are small roads with hardly any traffic.
Beautiful views along the route. We had a little picnic in the church square in Thoux, where there is a small table.
there are a few benches along the way. Pretty houses in the villages and countryside... with dogs, only one of which was off the leash. After point 10, you need to rejoin the trail by taking the path that goes up to the right, then left when you reach the trees, and right again. Point 11 is not accessible as the field has been ploughed.
Nice path along the lake. Beautiful view at the end between point 13 and the cemetery. It's a good 15 km, which took me 4½ hours with stops and a snack.

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Date of your route : Sep 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The route map did not always correspond to the actual route, which was misleading, especially at the beginning of the trail.
It's a shame that it wasn't specified that this route corresponds to the PR circuit numbered 5

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Date of your route : Apr 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Avoid after rain, very muddy in places. Quite a lot of tarmac and it's a shame you can't get to the lake area (you have to walk 600 metres along a very busy road to get there). Otherwise, a pleasant walk with lovely views of the Pyrenees.

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Date of your route : Feb 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hike to be done outside of the rainy seasons. Too much mud.

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Date of your route : Dec 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely loop through the Gers countryside with its typical valleys.
However, please note that during periods of heavy rain, the paths can become very muddy (and slippery) at times...

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

A difficult start: when you don't know the area, you don't know how to orientate the map. So, once we reached the market square, we had to decide where to start the walk: we ended up wandering around for 15 minutes!
Then the signposting left a lot to be desired. At many points, we wondered if we were going in the right direction. There are plenty of trees, though, which could do with a lick of yellow paint!
Otherwise, it's beautiful, you can often see the Pyrenees (covered in snow in this case) and the terrain is not a problem.

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Date of your route : Jan 03, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with a mix of trails and quiet roads, offering superb views of the Pyrenees.
A real treat!
be careful though, some sections are muddy if you're hiking after heavy rain.
One of the most beautiful walks in this region.

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Date of your route : Nov 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant short hike through woods and rolling fields with some beautiful views (particularly from the 11th-century church of Saint Cricq, which is definitely worth a visit but was closed when we were there).
The route passes along roads but these are very quiet (if not completely deserted).
The estimated duration is excessive (we did it in just over 3 hours)
A pleasant walk on a beautiful autumn afternoon.

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Date of your route : Aug 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk in a very pleasant region.
Typical landscapes and architecture
Encounters with very welcoming locals.
This route was signposted, but in some places the trail was very useful.
There are numerous hikes marked from Cologne, so we will be back

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Date of your route : Jul 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Please note!
Swimming is prohibited at Lake Thoux during the summer of 2021!
It's a bit of a drive, which may be an advantage in other seasons, but the hike offers quite varied landscapes

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Date of your route : Apr 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Thank you to the author of this hiking trail!

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Date of your route : Mar 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice, easy hike. Beautiful views. Passes by Lake Thoux. We will definitely do it again.

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