Clarabide Gorges - Upper lakes of the Louron Valley

Long circular loop for very good walkers.
Pont du Prat - Clarabide Gorges - Refuge de la Soula - Lac de Caillauas and Lac de Pouchergues.

Details

176620
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 23.37 km
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: More than 12 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Very difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,394 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,388 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,192 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,230 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Access: On leaving Arreau, leave the D929 towards Saint-Lary-Soulan and take the D618 towards Col de Peyresourde.
At Avajan, leave the D618 for the D25 to Loudenvielle via Adervielle and Genos. At the entrance to Loudenvielle, take the D725 to Pont de Prat where the Tramesaygues power station is located. Park in the Pont du Prat car park at the entrance to the power station.

(S/E) Go up the road from the power station, turn right before the tennis court and then pass under the cable car. After 100 metres, on the left between two houses, you will find the path to the Refuge de la Soula. Climb 50 metres to a fork in the road.

(1) Turn right and climb the winding path through the forest until you reach a fork: La Pez straight ahead or Refuge de la Soula (1,346 metres) to the left.

(2) Turn left towards La Soula and continue climbing through the forest. Pass under the cable car, continue climbing up the winding path through the forest until you come out and pass in front of the Santette Sanctuary at the entrance to the Clarabide Gorges on a beautiful balcony path. Walk along these gorges to the ruins of the old Soula bridge (1672 m).

(3) Cross the Neste de Clarabide via a footbridge and continue along the path to the Caillauas power station (1,708 m).

(4) Turn left and climb up until you pass under the Refuge de la Soula. Continue along the path and climb, keeping to the left at each fork. After a series of ascending hairpin bends, you will come to a fork (2,092 m).

(5) Turn left and continue climbing the switchbacks, keeping to the left until you reach the Lac de Caillauas dam (2,170 m).

(6) Walk 180° around a ruin and descend to the lake refuge shelter. Pass along the shelter and then, on the left, descend to the fork (2,092 m).

(5) Turn left, cross the Caillauas stream and continue climbing to reach a balcony path with numerous handrails and metal footbridges to the terminus of the Soula cable car (2,078 m).

(7) Continue straight ahead along the hillside and keep to the right until you reach the foot of Lac de Pouchergues (2,160 m).

(8) Continue along the path, climbing up to the heights of Prat Caseneuve, then descend to a fork (2,045 m).

(9) Turn right (as the shelter 100 m to the left is closed) and descend along the path overlooking the Ruisseau d'Aygues Tortes (waterfall worth seeing) until you cross the Ruisseau de Pouchergues. Continue downhill along the Neste de Clarabide stream, then finally climb back up to the fork at the Caillauas power station (1,708 m).

(4) Descend via the same path you took on the way up to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,230 m - Car park at the entrance to the Tramesaygues power station. - Neste du Lourou (rivière) - Affluent de la Neste
  2. 1 : km 0.41 - alt. 1,261 m - At the fork, turn right towards La Soula
  3. 2 : km 0.92 - alt. 1,336 m - At the fork, take the left path.
  4. 3 : km 4.67 - alt. 1,633 m - Footbridge, cross the stream
  5. 4 : km 5.21 - alt. 1,692 m - At the power station junction, turn left - Refuge de la Soula
  6. 5 : km 7.8 - alt. 2,042 m - At the fork, turn left
  7. 6 : km 9.21 - alt. 2,166 m - Lac de Caillaouas
  8. 7 : km 11.51 - alt. 2,046 m - Pumping station, continue straight ahead.
  9. 8 : km 14.17 - alt. 2,119 m - Lac de Pouchergues
  10. 9 : km 14.91 - alt. 2,039 m - At the fork, turn right
  11. S/E : km 23.37 - alt. 1,230 m - Car park at the entrance to the Tramesaygues power station

Notes

Very long hike:
- leave at 5am if possible from Pont du Prat or spend the night at: Refuge de la Soula: staffed, sleeps 40 (€13 per night and €36 for half board) or Refuge-abri du Lac de Caillauas: unstaffed, sleeps 6, with water and fireplace.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
Navarre Patrick
Navarre Patrick

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route that is less difficult and shorter than advertised, although there are two junctions that are difficult to find at points 5 and 8. Otherwise, the trail is fairly well marked and the scenery is magnificent. Highly recommended

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Palmito1967
Palmito1967
Netra
Netra ★
• Edited:

Hello Palmito, and thank you for your feedback.

The hiking guide lists the distance as 23.4 km and the elevation gain as 1,710 m. This is certainly more than what you reported. However, in order to determine whether this information is "completely incorrect", we would like to know the source of your information. In general, everyone believes that their equipment is more reliable than others, but all equipment has its share of estimation errors.

It would be interesting if you could post the route you recorded on your page so that it could be compared with the one on the hike information sheet. Thank you in advance!

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Palmito1967
Palmito1967

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Your information is completely incorrect
there is a total of 20.4 km of hiking
and 1,200 metres of elevation gain and loss

you are stating double that and more than 12 hours of walking
i walked for a total of 6 hours and 15 minutes, at a good pace but not running

The GPS track is completely wrong; my watch showed twice the remaining elevation gain
probably a map created using a GPS track that was incorrectly transferred and duplicated?

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JPBellocq
JPBellocq

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We only went as far as the refuge. The climb up to the gorges is peaceful, through the forest. The passage through the gorges is very beautiful. The mountain pastures you come to are another beautiful landscape.

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pyrenees
pyrenees

Thank you

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lemarcheur65
lemarcheur65 ★

Hello Pyrenees
After recalculating the elevation gains: positive elevation gain: 1,710 m

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pyrenees
pyrenees

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, very nice hike. I think there is an error in the elevation gain, it's more like 1200/1300m.

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aadore
aadore

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
This route was completed over two days on 24 and 25 September 2022. The duration is overestimated; I completed the route in just nine hours, carrying a heavy load (around 12 kilos) and without running (around six hours to climb up to Lake Pouchergues and three hours to descend to Pont de Prat).
It's not easy to understand the route to leave from Lake Caillauas, and the same goes for leaving from Lake Pouchergues: GPS positioning is invaluable in these conditions (especially as I had dense fog).
There were few or no difficulties up to Lake Pouchergues, but the descent is a little more technical.
Definitely worth doing, it's really worth the effort.

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jean-marc bleslu
jean-marc bleslu

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did it at the end of August 2021. The route is correct.
The Caillauas Lake refuge is undergoing renovation and is therefore inaccessible. However, the Prat Cazeneuve hut has been refurbished and is accessible and open.

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M de Colomiers
M de Colomiers

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike, with special mention for the Lac de Pouchergues valley and the views it offers from the Neste. But the arrival at Lac de Caillauas isn't bad either. Beautiful day. Thank you

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Bunce
Bunce

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, more easy than difficult. The two lakes are very beautiful. I recommend it.

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macal95
macal95
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 24, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

i didn't do the whole hike.
I went to the Soula refuge and then to Lake Caillauas.
A superb, gentle climb thanks to the winding paths through the forest, and then when you come out of the forest, there's the wonderful path along the cliff with beautiful views... and a few thrills when you look down.
Very beautiful "cobbled" paths lined with blueberry bushes lead to the refuge
... and all along this path there is plenty to learn thanks to the really interesting information boards describing the fauna and flora and how the Clarabide Gorges path was built.... a leisurely 1½ hour climb to the refuge.
And another hour and a half to get from the refuge to Lake Caillauas... it's just as beautiful there, but the path is a little more difficult.
Arrived at the lake?!!... Of course, the water is green/blue, but there's nothing really around to make you want to stay there....__
''

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Breizh5629
Breizh5629

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Towpath 30 July 2019, on a misty day with a temperature of 12°C, we simply made a round trip to the Soula refuge. The path up was wide and comfortable, winding its way through a beautiful forest of straight trees, moss and ferns in the undergrowth. The second part of the trail runs along a wide, well-secured rock face, with many interesting varieties of plants and flowers. Numerous educational panels on the fauna, flora and minerals make this a fun walk (you can see casts of bear, badger and wild boar tracks, reproductions of eagle talons, wild boar tusks, etc.). We received a warm welcome at the Soula refuge, where we enjoyed a hot drink.

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Gitanfleur
Gitanfleur

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I used the description to get to Lake Caillauas, so I didn't do the circular route (return via Lake Pouchergues)
no problems encountered in this file.

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