Kaskoborro from Idaux-Mendy

Idaux-Mendy is a commune comprising two villages. On the D147, at the junction halfway between Idaux and Mendy, park in the car park near the town hall and the Arbailak school complex.

Yellow markings (^PR®)

(S/E) From the town hall and school in Idaux-Mendy, with these behind you, turn left onto the small road leading to the riding school (sign near the car park). Continue to the next junction.

(1) Take the small road on the right leading towards the church. Cross the road (D147) and head slightly downhill to the junction.

(2) Turn left onto a small road that descends to the Aphurhura stream. Cross the bridge. Further upstream, on the left, you’ll see an imposing building peeking out from between the trees; this is the old Xamalbide mill.

(3) Continue along the road then head up to the left. Enter the forest and reach the end of the tarmac section.

(4) Turn right and continue climbing very gradually along the main track, which is well-graveled, in the shade of the oak trees, until you reach a small hillock.

(5) At the junction, turn left. The path descends slightly, runs alongside meadows before climbing again and coming out onto the tarmac road linking the villages of Aussurucq and Ordiarp.

(6) Turn left towards Aussurucq, follow the road to the bottom of the hill and take a good stony track on the left, before the bend.

(7) Take this track and you’ll emerge into an area of extensive fern-covered woodland dotted with pollarded oaks. On the right, admire the nearby Arbailles massif and the cliff where the vultures gather.

(8) At the junction, near a cluster of pollarded oaks, follow the path to the left until you reach a flat area.

(9) Continue to the right along the track that descends. The path soon runs alongside the stream. Keep going straight on until you reach a junction just before a bridge.

(10) Head up to the left, pass a few slightly steep sections and, after a slight incline along the edge of the meadows, arrive at a crossroads.

(11) Turn right onto the small tarmac road that descends to the junction to rejoin the route you have already taken.

(4) Head down to the right along the route in the opposite direction and return to the car park (S/E).

Facilities and services: toilets.

(4) Forest and pastoralism
The shepherds of Soule have developed a form of agroforestry combining the layered cultivation of trees, ferns and grass. The pruning of trees for timber (pollarded oaks, for example), fodder (meadows, pastures), the cutting of ferns for bedding and manure, but above all controlled burning, bear witness to highly sophisticated farming techniques.

The Arbailles
Historically, Soule was divided into three districts: Basse-Soule (Pettara), Haute-Soule (Basabürüa) and Arbailles (Arbaia). The latter comprises the villages of Aussurucq, Roquiague, Garindein, Gotein-Libarrenx, Idaux-Mendy, Menditte, Musculdy, Ossas-Suhare, Ordiarp, Pagolle and Sauguis-Saint-Étienne.

(2) The Calvary bell towers
The Calvary bell towers, characteristic of the churches of Soule, date from^{the 17th} century. With their three spires topped by three crosses, they were long known as “Trinitarian bell towers” and later as “Calvary bell towers”. In fact, the cross has never been a symbol of the Trinity but rather of the Crucifixion. Also dating from this period are the magnificent gilded altarpieces that adorn the humblest churches of Soule: Aussurucq, Gotein, Idaux-Mendy, Espès-Undurein.