The 4 churches route

This walk will take you to the four churches of Montaner, through forests and, from the plateaus, to vast panoramas with the castle tower as your anchor point.

Details

717319
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.00 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 879 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 863 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,155 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 794 ft
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Montaner (64460)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.345743° / W 0.00853°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1644SB, 1645SB
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

In Montaner, park near the Post Office.

(S/E) Take the road south and walk past the Foyer Rural.

(1) Turn right onto the Camin du Mariat until you reach a road. Follow the road to the left for about 800m, then take the road that climbs to the right. At the hamlet of Jouandemaure, turn right.

(2) Shortly afterwards, just past a house, turn onto a path that descends to the left. This path makes a wide bend to the right, then, after a bend to the left, crosses a small bridge and joins the road.

(3) Follow it slightly to the right, then turn left towards Manâud. After a farm, take a path opposite. Just after a farm building, turn right.

(4) Then follow the road to the left and pass in front of the first church, the Church of Lasserre. Take the first tiny road leading down to the right.

(5) At the first junction by the Jouandet farm, turn right then left in front of a house, then left twice more. Follow the main road to the right for about 250m.

(6) Take the path on the right down a cart track. 460 metres further on, turn left. Further on, cross a road and continue straight ahead, passing close to a silo.

(7) At the crossroads, turn right and, 150 metres further on, take a grassy track on the left which turns left, then right, then right again, following the edge of the plateau. In front of an apiary, turn right, then a little further on follow a path to the left which joins a road, down which you descend to Ainx and its church, the second on the route.

(8) At the double crossroads on leaving the hamlet, take the road that climbs to the right. Pass the hamlet of Cabet and walk past the third church, the Church of Parsan (Camin deu Parsan d'Ourbère), on the right, then turn left twice.

(9) Take the path on the left to Lesquerré, 700m away

(10) Turn right, pass Pédelaborde and, further on, you’ll reach a small road, the D21. Take the Camin deus Casalots opposite. Cross a ford and then cross another small road.

(11) Take the path going uphill straight ahead, veer left at the edge of the woods then right until you reach Montaner Castle.

(12) Cross the access road to the castle and continue straight ahead. The path soon turns left and, at the next junction, continue to the right. A few metres before the edge of the woods, turn left and head down towards the painted church of Montaner, the fourth church.

(13) From the church, follow the road southwards, then take the first street on the left, followed by the street on the right to reach the village centre (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 850 ft - Car park near the post office
  2. 1 : mi 0.11 - alt. 853 ft - Path on the right
  3. 2 : mi 1.07 - alt. 1,115 ft - Path on the left
  4. 3 : mi 2.09 - alt. 873 ft - Turn right onto the road
  5. 4 : mi 2.57 - alt. 1,033 ft - Road to the left
  6. 5 : mi 2.95 - alt. 1,115 ft - Jouandet Farm crossroads
  7. 6 : mi 3.59 - alt. 1,155 ft - Path on the right
  8. 7 : mi 4.52 - alt. 1,115 ft - On the right
  9. 8 : mi 5.48 - alt. 906 ft - Ainx and its church
  10. 9 : mi 6.18 - alt. 853 ft - Path on the left
  11. 10 : mi 6.68 - alt. 830 ft - Turn right at Lesquerré. Towards the - Lis (rivière)
  12. 11 : mi 7.12 - alt. 804 ft - Opposite
  13. 12 : mi 7.52 - alt. 1,076 ft - Montaner Castle
  14. 13 : mi 7.78 - alt. 896 ft - Painted Church of Montaner
  15. S/E : mi 8 - alt. 850 ft - Car park near the post office

Notes

Picnic area

Worth a visit

(12) Passing by the castle

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 16 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
Pyrénéenne
Pyrénéenne

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Route created using the Visorando mobile app to follow the route properly. Between points 12 and 13, even with GPS it was impossible to find the path... (see also previous review).
All the churches were locked.
A pleasant route, but one I would recommend more for mountain bikes or hybrid bikes as there are quite a few tarmac sections and tracks suitable for vehicles.

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Le Taurupt
Le Taurupt

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 28, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Easy and interesting route. Well marked, and with the app it's perfect. Just two tricky points:
- At point 10, in January, during the rainy season, there was 20 cm of water with a strong current. So we had to take a detour via the road to get to the bridge!
- The descent from the castle (12) to the painted church (13) is impossible to follow, even with GPS. Entertainment stands, accompanied by multiple paths and closed gates, obscure the route. You have to persevere to finally find the small path that leads to the church.
But hey, it's all part of the fun of hiking!

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Gipaète
Gipaète

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The churches are all closed, that's a fact, so it's advisable to contact Montaner Town Hall a few days in advance and the mayor will come in person to open the doors for you.
He is very welcoming and helpful, and his commentary and tour of the last church (which is painted) will give you a surprising insight into this elected representative who is truly committed to his duties as mayor and lecturer.

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Ch. LAGARDE
Ch. LAGARDE
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you to the author of this route. I really enjoyed this walk, which took me to four churches starting from Montaner. The landscape was varied. There were no particular difficulties. I didn't use the description, as the map was very clear with the GPS. The church in Montaner with its frescoes is very beautiful and worth a visit.
You can ask at the reception desk at the Montaner Tower.

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Gipaète
Gipaète

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Overall, a beautiful hike in good weather. Unfortunately, the signage is still poor despite the feedback provided since 2019. The churches were still closed. Some confusion at the last two points.
Greater involvement from the Adour-Madiran community office would be welcome.

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PSe64
PSe64

Hello
A walk that could do with a little refreshing in terms of signposting

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HPAL
HPAL

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk with no particular difficulties, except from point 12 onwards, where we took a wrong turn.

The yellow markings are not very recent and are sometimes completely absent. The GPS was very useful.

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Florence L
Florence L

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, easy-to-follow route. At the end of December, there was no one around and the view of the snow-capped Pyrenees was magnificent. Very pleasant and varied (forest, panoramic plateau). We didn't visit any churches, as they were all closed.

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PEXK768
PEXK768

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with views of the Pyrenees and the Montaner tower always in sight.
Leaving the tower and heading towards the church, it's difficult to find the little path.
It's very interesting to visit the tower and the painted church (you have to ask for the key).

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Audrey et Laurent
Audrey et Laurent

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike, easily completed in four hours, plus a picnic break. The main attraction of this route is discovering the three "sisters" of the painted church of Montaner. These are little gems that we unfortunately couldn't visit because they were closed. However, the landscapes are varied and very pretty. Much of the route is shaded, which was much appreciated in the heat.

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D@niel
D@niel
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route through valleys and hillsides, with the keep of Montaner Castle practically always in view. On this particular day, the route was completed anti-clockwise, starting from the painted church of Montaner (13). The description is very vague between (13) and (12), where a multitude of information panels about the local flora and fauna have been installed in the copses surrounding the hill on which Gaston Fébus settled in the late 14th century, creating a veritable maze of small coloured markers (blue, red, yellow, white, etc.) that make the approach confusing. The simplest route is to go via hill 265 (south-west of the church) and reach the castle via the designated path.
Three and a half hours without rushing.

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Pdups
Pdups

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The markings on the ground need to be reviewed because the yellow markings are missing in several places. Either they do not exist (or no longer exist!) or they are barely visible.
The time of 4 hours and 20 minutes is acceptable!
A beautiful, peaceful, undulating walk.

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Aidenwill
Aidenwill

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's a beautiful route, but the markings are sometimes a little difficult to follow and the path is a bit unclear, so you sometimes end up walking through tall grass, but it's nothing insurmountable.
Two hours is enough to complete the route, and the scenery you pass through is quite varied and very pretty.

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merivot
merivot

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route around Montaner in stunning natural surroundings. However, the explanations are vague and the markings are either non-existent or faded, so we took a wrong turn because the route is very difficult to follow. You need to allow plenty of time when setting out on this hike.

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bbrunelet
bbrunelet

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 17, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Reliable description, but constant attention is required to avoid getting lost.

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