Étang de Naguille

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A hike starting from Orlu to discover the largest lake in the Ariège Pyrenees!

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.21 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,022 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,022 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,897 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 911 m
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Photos

Naguilles Pond
Orlu
Pond
A dense wood

Description of the walk

Access to the Forges d'Orlu car park is very easy. Coming from Foix, drive through the town of Ax-les-Thermes. At the end of the town, you can either cross a bridge leading to Mérens-les-Vals, or turn left (actually straight ahead, as the bridge turns to the right) towards Orlu and Orgeix. Turn left and drive through Orgeix first, then Orlu. Two kilometres after Orlu, you will arrive at Les Forges. Park in the visitor car park.

(S/E) Head to the back of the car park and go straight ahead. Do not follow theGR®® des Montagnes d'Ax, which will take you to Orlu (where you came from by car). A sign will indicate "Étang de Naguille 3h". From there, follow the red and yellow markings. Shortly after you begin your ascent, you will see a penstock (clearly visible, impossible to miss). Take the time to read the small sign explaining how it works if you are unfamiliar with this type of conveyance.

(1) Walk along the penstock and turn left, do not go under the penstock. Continue through dense woodland. The trail is well marked, but take care to follow the signs as the path winds quite a bit. After 1.5 km, you will come to a small wooden bridge.

(2) Cross the bridge and continue on your way. Shortly afterwards, you will emerge from the dense woodland.

(3) The vegetation changes and becomes a little sparser: there are rhododendrons in abundance, but far fewer trees. Continue like this for a good kilometre and a half before arriving at an old mine. The dam has been in sight for some time. A green metal bridge appears.

(4) Cross this green metal bridge and begin the climb to the dam. Keep an eye out for the trail markers, which are clearly visible but not always easy to find, as the path changes direction regularly. Once you reach the top of the dam, the Étang de Naguille lake comes into view.

(5) This is the largest lake in the Ariège Pyrenees, covering an area of approximately 82 hectares. Return via the same path to the Forges d'Orlu car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 918 m - Forges d'Orlu car park - Oriège (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.49 - alt. 959 m - Penstock
  3. 2 : km 2.36 - alt. 1,455 m - Small wooden bridge
  4. 3 : km 2.75 - alt. 1,549 m - Exit from dense woodland
  5. 4 : km 4.59 - alt. 1,809 m - Green metal bridge
  6. 5 : km 5.1 - alt. 1,893 m - Étang de Naguille
  7. S/E : km 10.2 - alt. 918 m - Forges d'Orlu car park

Notes

The trail is very rocky, so be sure to wear good walking shoes. You can also bring walking sticks to make your ascent and, above all, your descent more comfortable. The trail is very shady until you exit the dense forest (3). After that, shade becomes scarce, even almost non-existent at Étang de Naguille, although there are one or two trees there.

The dam is often maintained by teams who have supplies delivered by helicopter. Avoid waving at the pilots, as they may think you need help.

Worth a visit

Next to the starting point, you will find the Maison des Loups, which is worth a look.

Once you arrive at Étang de Naguille, you can visit the Deroun and Tort ponds (off the trail, to my knowledge) and also the Peyrisses ponds (also off the trail).
Finally, you can also continue on theGRP®® Tour de la Montagne d'Ax to continue towards the Refuge d'En Beys (nearby) or the Refuge des Bésines (further away).

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 16 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
DG46
DG46

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, but quite challenging given the elevation gain and large rocks on the trail.
Very pleasant in hot weather as most of the climb is through a beautiful forest.

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micheltlse
micheltlse

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Easy but relatively long climb through the forest. This is compensated by the beauty of the site around the pond. An important stopover point on several routes, with camping possible.

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sylvie la crau
sylvie la crau

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

hello
the climb is very easy, under the trees, in the cool shade...
we continued walking along the pond for a good kilometre. You can get close to the waterfalls and the landscape is very pretty.
the descent seems endless, but it's still cool.

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Jean Marc Bain
Jean Marc Bain

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A beautiful hike through the snow at the end of the climb this spring. Turn right before reaching the platform below the dam to avoid climbing the scree.
Please note that parking is now subject to a charge.

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Netra
Netra ★

Hello,

The distance as the crow flies between the starting point and the dam (north bank of the pond) is exactly 3 km. See the route: https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-/386...

The path up to the dam is obviously more winding, but not to the point of tripling the distance... I can confirm that the path is 5.1 km one way and 10.2 km round trip.

If the estimated time for the ascent is 3 hours, it is not because of the distance (which would be greater than indicated) but because of the 1,000 m elevation gain.

A pedometer is a measuring instrument, and all measuring instruments have a margin of error...

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Kilzemole
Kilzemole

I don't really know what to say to you. I've published eight hikes, and the one in Naguille is the only one with a problem in terms of kilometre arbitration. However, the method used is always the same 🤷.

I would still advise you to try a method other than a pedometer. It will be relatively reliable on flat ground, but I imagine you don't have the same stride when going uphill. That means more steps, and therefore more kilometres.

Finally, as you say, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Thank you again for the note

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pascal44400
pascal44400

Surprisingly, several hikers made the same comment as me... Your kilometres are not the same as mine! It's calculated from the car park to the dam, not to the opposite end of the lake...
Never mind, you'll have the last word apparently, let's not talk about it anymore 😕

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Kilzemole
Kilzemole
• Edited:

Hello,

When I published this outing, I had created the GPX track using software and also mapped the route using the Visorando app. Other methods, not to mention Suunto, Fatmap, or even some blogs, also give this distance. I would like to point out that the distance is measured from the dam and therefore from the start of the lake. As the lake is very large, if you measure from the end of the lake, you will inevitably get an incorrect distance (but probably not as incorrect as the distance displayed by your pedometer). In short, the distance displayed on the map is OK 😘

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pascal44400
pascal44400

Sorry, my pedometer showed 19 km on the way back, not 9.43 km as stated in the description... I'm not the first person to point this out.
Also, a sign at the start indicates that the Nanguille pond is a 3-hour walk away.
Kind regards,

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grandin
grandin ★
• Edited:

pascal44400
The distance indicated by the software corresponds to the round trip

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pascal44400
pascal44400

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The hike is 19 km round trip, not 9.43 km as advertised, which is actually only the one-way distance, meaning 9.43 km of uninterrupted climbing. Point 2 is 5.23 km from the start and point 3 is 7.46 km away. The metal bridge at point 4 is impassable. You must stay on the path marked with yellow and red markers. The last few kilometres are very rocky. Some areas between points 2 and 3 are slippery.

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RAND19
RAND19

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with the sound of water all along the way – it's a real pleasure
A bit of a tough climb through the woods in the mist, with the howling of wolves from the park below... What an atmosphere... Then you arrive in an extraordinary garden with a multitude of flowers and butterflies.
Just outside the woods, there is a pleasant watering hole with blueberry bushes...
The pond is perched high up in a pretty setting.
The mileage mentioned is fine by me.

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RAND19
RAND19

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with the sound of water all along the way – it's a real pleasure
A bit of a tough climb through the woods in the mist, with the howling of wolves from the park below... What an atmosphere... Then you arrive in an extraordinary garden with a multitude of flowers and butterflies.
Just outside the woods, there is a pleasant watering hole with blueberry bushes...
The pond is perched high up in a pretty setting.

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defosse lydia
defosse lydia

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route, mainly through forest, which is very pleasant in this hot weather. It's a shame you can't do a circular to enjoy these beautiful landscapes even more.

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bretzel17
bretzel17
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A rather physically demanding hike for less experienced hikers , with a long climb through the forest.
The Naguille lake is a huge reservoir created by a dam. Lovers of unspoilt nature may therefore be disappointed on arrival (pylons, cable car to transport equipment to the site, buildings related to the management of the site).
It is possible to camp along the stream and swim there.

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