Erretzü from Tardets-Sorholus

Head to Place de Tardets. Walk up the small street in the middle, near the pharmacy, and continue straight on along the fronton to the sports hall. Park in the car park by the roadside.

(S/E) From the car park, follow the pleasant, partly shaded path that runs alongside the stream. You will come to a crossroads.

(1) Ignore the first road on the left (return route) and continue straight ahead. Follow the road to a bridge and a dirt track.

(2) Leave the tarmac and take the dirt track, continuing straight on along the edge of the stream. Ford another stream before emerging into more open country. On your left, you’ll see the destination of the hike: the summit of Erretzü. The main stream continues to flow on your right beneath the ash and hazel trees. Ignore all the paths leading uphill to the left and follow the stream until you reach a path that crosses it.

(3) Take this path, and after two hairpin bends, you’ll reach a tarmac road. As you pass Paillet Farm, close the gate and you’ll come to a fork.

(4) Turn left and head uphill. Pass close to Montecorat Farm to reach Urrutigoïti Farm.

(5) Leave the road and take a path on the right. Continue along this sunken track, beneath the holly bushes, lined with enormous centuries-old chestnut trees. The path soon emerges into the open at the Col d’Erretzü, from where you can see the summit again.

(6) Continue straight on along a balcony path through the fern-covered slopes. Stunning views of the Pic d’Anie massif and the mountains of Béarn. After a short climb, you reach a wide, flat area.

(7) Turn left and, after a flat dome, begin the ascent towards the summit. Climb directly along the ridge, following the well-marked path through the ferns. Pass the large cairn on the first summit (altitude 696 m) and head along the ridge to the main summit.

(8) Descend to the left (do not go straight towards the Col de Sustary) along a fairly steep and very stony path ; proceed with caution. You will reach a flat area.

(9) Turn right after the large oak tree. Continue straight on along the stream to the tarmac road: follow it to the left until you reach the junction from the outward journey.

(1) Turn right, following the reverse route of the outward journey to the car park (S/E).

Markings: Yellow (^PR®).

(8) A pastoral way of life

The summit of Erretzü is surrounded by heathland covered in ferns and dotted with pollarded oaks. These landscapes bear witness to the ancient practices of free use and free grazing still alive in Soule, intended to provide livestock with food and bedding. The pedunculate oaks, which are kept in widely spaced formations, are cut back to 2 or 3 metres to produce firewood. The acorns are used to feed the pigs. Farmers also make use of the communal lands for ‘soutrage’. This involves cutting anything that can be used to make bedding for livestock: gorse and, above all, fern. Every year, at the end of winter, the moors are maintained by means of controlled burning (écobuage), which eliminates unwanted plants, such as brambles, and encourages the regrowth of grass and fern.