La Llagonne – Lac d’en Calvet – Pla de Barrès – Mont-Louis

This pleasant walk through woodland, along the banks of the River Têt and through the fortifications is a synthesis of the walks in the Catalan Pyrenees that follow thePR®®10,PR®®19andPR®®20routes. This route starts from the village of La Llagonne but could just as easily begin at the Citadel of Mont-Louis or Lac d’en Calvet.

Details

54379438
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.22 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 778 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 787 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 5,784 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 5,125 ft

Description of the walk

Start at the car park by La Llagonne town hall.

(S/E) Walk up Rue du Pré, then turn left onto Promenade du Cambre d’Aze until you reach the EDF transformer. Turn left and follow the signs forthe PR®®19. Turn left onto Rue d’En Tartes until you reach the riding centre. Continue along a track until you reach some meadows, then turn left onto a path through the woodland.

(1) Turn right onto the path leading to Col del Mel.

(2) Turn left at the junction and join the D332 opposite a picnic area.

(3) Cross the road carefully and continue along the track opposite until you reach the ridge. Follow the track downhill to Pla de les Postes and carry on straight ahead for about 200 m.

(4) Just before a fence, turn right onto a path leading to the small lake known as Lac de la Jasse de Calvet (Jaça d’en Calbet). Go round it on the left to join a forest track.

(5) Turn left, cross a log bridge and reach a junction of forest tracks. Ignore the track on the right, which leads to Bernardi, and follow the one on the left. 100 m further on, at the next junction, continue straight ahead over undulating terrain.

(6) Leave thePR®®19and head straight on towards Route des Bouillouses and Mas de la Borde. Reach the access road to Lac des Bouillouses.

(7) Follow it to the right as far as the shuttle bus stop (during the summer). Turn left and cross several log bridges and a bridge, following the signs for Pla de Barrès. Just after the bridge, turn left onto a track that follows the banks of the Têt to another bridge leading to the Camping des Bouillouses.

(8) Do not cross this bridge but turn right, continuing along the banks of the Têt towards Mont-Louis.
Please note: at the time of writing, one of the signposts is rotated by 90° and points towards Mont-Louis in the wrong direction. After passing the sewage treatment plant on the opposite bank, join a forest track and follow it to the left to reach the D618.

(9) Without crossing the D618, immediately take the path leading down to the left, running alongside the waste collection centre gate. Continue to a tunnel that takes you under a bend in the road linking Mont-Louis to La Llagonne, and follow this road

(10) Leave the “La Llagonne – Balcons de la Têt” path on your left and follow the River Têt along the straight tarmac road leading to Mont-Louis.

(11) Take care and do not stray from the path from this point onwards, as the surrounding area is used as a military training ground. Take the fortifications path on the left, below a building, and follow it round the Citadel barracks. Take a look at the various training equipment used for commando training.

(12) Turn left to reach the junction of Rue du Foirail and Rue Mirabeau. Follow the latter, turn left to pass the post office and continue straight ahead to reach the South Gate. Leave the village walls and head towards the N116.

(13) Before reaching the road, turn right onto the continuation of the fortifications path running parallel to the N116, and return to the entrance to the military grounds.

(11) Turn left onto the small tarmac road, heading in the opposite direction to your outward journey.

(10) Continue straight on, following the signs for Les Balcons de la Têt – La Llagonne. Cross the small bridge over the Têt and follow the path until you reach the D118.

(14) Cross this departmental road carefully, walk alongside it for a few metres to the right, then leave it by taking the path that heads left uphill towards La Llagonne. Pass the entrance to the cemetery on your right and join the Promenade du Pré de la Ville.

(15) Turn left, then left again to follow the Promenade du Cambre d’Aze, which you took at the start. Then turn right onto Rue du Pré to return to the town hall car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 5,495 ft - La Llagonne Town Hall car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.63 - alt. 5,728 ft - Turn right at the fork
  3. 2 : mi 0.95 - alt. 5,761 ft - At the crossroads, turn left
  4. 3 : mi 1.31 - alt. 5,755 ft - D332, picnic area
  5. 4 : mi 2.16 - alt. 5,666 ft - Fence, path on the right
  6. 5 : mi 2.72 - alt. 5,640 ft - Lake Jasse d’En Calvet
  7. 6 : mi 3.59 - alt. 5,686 ft - Leave the PR°°®°°19 trail and continue straight on
  8. 7 : mi 3.94 - alt. 5,499 ft - Lac des Bouillouses Route
  9. 8 : mi 5.6 - alt. 5,407 ft - Bouillouses Campsite Bridge – Têt (river) - Têt (fleuve)
  10. 9 : mi 6.63 - alt. 5,377 ft - Access to the Mont-Louis recycling centre
  11. 10 : mi 7.13 - alt. 5,203 ft - Junction. Circular return loop around the fortifications
  12. 11 : mi 7.37 - alt. 5,197 ft - Junction of the circular fortifications loop - Citadelle de Mont-Louis
  13. 12 : mi 7.79 - alt. 5,230 ft - East Bastion – Mont-Louis – La Cabanasse - Mont-Louis - La Cabanasse
  14. 13 : mi 8.06 - alt. 5,128 ft - Southern Gate of the fortifications
  15. 14 : mi 9.52 - alt. 5,328 ft - Crossing the D118
  16. 15 : mi 10.01 - alt. 5,449 ft - Promenade du Pré de la Ville
  17. S/E : mi 10.22 - alt. 5,495 ft - La Llagonne Town Hall car park

Notes

There are several ways to shorten the route:

  • At point (6), head back towards La Llagonne following thePR®®19.
  • At point (10), return to La Llagonne without walking around the fortifications of Mont-Louis.

As you enter the fortifications not far from (12), you will have a choice of several paths allowing you to view the upper (military) part and the lower (civilian, with its shops) part of the village of Mont-Louis.

Worth a visit

Three points of interest along this walk
(5) The small fishing lake at En Calvet.
The meanders of the River Têt: Pla de Barrès.
The fortifications of Mont-Louis.

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.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
bernard coulomb
bernard coulomb

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 30, 2026
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A really lovely walk: the forest sections are superb, ‘Little Canada’ is worth the detour in its own right, and yet another magnificent Vauban citadel… definitely a thoroughly rewarding discovery walk!
No problems following the route with the GPX file integrated into MAPS.ME.
One downside, however: there were lots of dogs not kept on a lead, some of which were chasing duck broods in the water.

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Marie Flo Rando
Marie Flo Rando

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Completed in 3 hours in a hike-run format. The "Petit Canada" section is very busy, but the trails are quite wide and it's still very pretty! The first section is wilder and also very pleasant
This walk is very diverse in terms of the places it passes through (citadel, Têt valley, etc.) and is therefore enjoyable as well as easy.
Thank you

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Marie Flo Rando
Marie Flo Rando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Completed in 2 hours and 40 minutes by running.
The Petit Canada section is very busy but very pretty. It's worth doing.
The combination with the tour of the citadel at Montlouis is nice and allows for a refreshing break!
Thank you for this route, which also offers a variety of walks in terms of elevation!

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sosomamie66
sosomamie66

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice, but it's a shame there isn't much snow

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FrancisCougard
FrancisCougard

Thank you very much for this information; we now know that this hike is doable in winter, which we weren’t sure about!!

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domoliv34
domoliv34

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely winter route, fairly easy. We found it a bit tricky to follow the route in "Little Canada", but we managed in the end. The first part is unspoilt and there are very few walkers!

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FrancisCougard
FrancisCougard

Hello, Laurent. I don’t think there will be any particular difficulties if there’s snow; you might want to bring snowshoes along in that case.

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laurent5711
laurent5711

Hello, I’ll be doing this hike in December. Best regards

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