L'Hôpital-Saint-Blaise walks

A lovely stage through Soule (Xiberoa) to its capital, Mauléon-Licharre (Maule-Lextarre).

Forty-fourth stage of the Camino de Santiago. During this stage, you leave Béarn for the Basque Country. A very long stage, mostly along country roads and paths through woodland. As you do not pass through any large villages, it is best to stock up on provisions at the start.

A pleasant walk starting from a Basque village in Béarn. Beautiful views of the Pyrenees range from the Pic du Midi de Bigorre to the Pic d’Orhy. Marked trail, a little muddy at the start, with lovely houses on the ridges all along the route.

A beautiful stage that ends in a grand finale in a superb valley.

A short, easy walk next to the Aramits adventure park. Beautiful views over the plain and the mountains: Anie, Madeleine, etc. Picnics possible at the summit. The route alternates between woodland and meadows, with a few signposts except for the summit.

A short, easy walk that can be combined with the Soum d’Aulis, or, alternatively, shortened by descending via the road from the Soum de Rut. Beautiful views of the Pyrenees from the summit.

This walk takes you to the Bois de Gouloum around the Col de Bugalaran. This lovely route offers stunning views of the village of Aramits along beautiful hillside paths.

A short, pleasant walk where you can have a picnic at the summit. Beautiful views of the Anie and the scattered settlements on the borders of Béarn. No difficulty. A few yellow markers to help you find your way.

Discover, during a return trip through the forest, a little spot steeped in history: Caesar’s Camp. These are the remains of an oppidum (a fortification built on high ground and surrounded by ditches, serving as a refuge and a meeting place) lost in the heart of the Bois de Pée forest, 10 minutes from the town of Oloron-Sainte-Marie.

This beautiful circular loop in the foothills offers a wide variety of landscapes. Meadows with their traditional stone huts, woods and fern-filled glades dotted with pollarded oaks follow one another, not to mention the streams over which mills have been built. This allows one to better appreciate the riches of this multifaceted Basque agro-pastoral culture. There is no shortage of views: the nearby Arbailles karst massif, the flysch hills and the summit of La Madeleine, as well as the mountains of Haute-Soule.

A beautiful, easy route in the Basque Country, starting from the village of Ossas-Suhare. The route passes through the village of Suhare, nestled at the foot of the Arbailles massif, with views over the Soule countryside.

A lovely circular route a few kilometres from Oloron. Walk along the Gave d'Ossau before discovering the Pont du Diable and venturing along the edge of fields and through the undergrowth.

To the east of the Saison valley, stretching from Mauléon to Tardets, a range of hills faces the Arbailles massif to the west and the imposing wall of the Pyrenees mountain range, dominated by the Pic d’Anie to the south. The summit of Erretzü marks the furthest point of this range. This position affords it a breathtaking view of the mountains of Béarn and Haute-Soule. The route is very varied. It starts in the undergrowth alongside a lovely stream, then emerges into open ground through fern-filled glades dotted with pollarded oaks. Like the ferns that cover it, the summit changes colour with the seasons, eventually cloaking itself in a flamboyant red in autumn.

This walk via the Col d’Oxibar offers a particularly interesting feature: it opens up the Arbailles karst massif. The geology lends the landscape a distinctive character – at once mysterious and unique – with a cultural dimension rooted in protohistory. After passing through a small wood, the first open slopes already offer a lovely view of the ‘Ibar Esküin’ valley, Alcay, Lacarry and the high mountain ranges of Soule and Béarn. Even at this stage, the nature of the ground gives an indication of this type of limestone terrain, leading to a beautiful promontory where several piles of stones are heaped up: ‘Maide Korralea’, a testament to Soule’s ancient history. After the Oxibar Pass, on the descent, admire the old barn with its shingle roof, made of those old wooden tiles.

At the entrance to the Aspe Valley, 10 km south of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, lie the first foothills of the Western Pyrenees. The Mail Arrouy, or Rocher Rouge, towers over the Oloron plain from a height of 1,250 m. Although the route is well-known, it is rarely used, physically demanding and the landscape is rather wild... That is the price you pay to admire this beautiful region! Recommended for experienced hikers only.