Gave d'Estaubé (cours d'eau) - Affluent du Gave de Héas walks

Set off from the Cirque d’Estaubé, passing by the Lac des Gloriettes, to the Cirque de Troumouse for a completely self-catering bivouac.

Perched at 2,666 metres, on a pass just a few metres wide on the French-Spanish border, the Tuquerouye Refuge is not easily reached. First, you must cross the Cirque d’Estaubé – the most unassuming of the massif’s three great cirques – walk alongside the waters of Lac des Gloriettes, then set off up the steep couloir that bears its name. Then, just as you’re at the end of your tether, the highest unmanned refuge in the Pyrenees comes into view: a stone shelter built in 1890, watched over by a statue of the Virgin Mary that a guide from Gavarnie carried there on his back. Twelve beds, a stove, and for a horizon nothing but the Lac Glacé du Marboré, where the north face of Mont Perdu (3,355 m) and the walls of the Cylindre are reflected in the morning light. A balcony suspended between two slopes, at the heart of the Pyrenees-Mont Perdu site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A night up there has to be earned — and is never forgotten.