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The start is near the funicular station. Head for the Ophite Nursery School, where you’ll find a car park. The path is clearly signposted with yellow signs. Be careful, however, as the path crosses mountain bike downhill routes in several places: ‘Mountain Bike Crossing’ signs will indicate this.
(S/E) Take the path to the left of the small house. After 50 m, turn left onto the Chemin du Pic du Jer.
(1) Before the end of the cul-de-sac, turn slightly right onto an uphill path and carry on straight on until you reach a junction.
(2) Turn right to continue up the stony path.
(3) Leave the path and head up onto a wider forest track. The gradient becomes gentler and remains steady all the way to the summit. You’ll reach the Col des Trois Croix, which is curiously named as there are no crosses there. If you’re using the OSM map, it’s incorrect and shows the pass further up.
(4) Continue along the forest track to the right. You can’t go wrong from here until you reach the funicular’s upper station. Go past it and head to the magnificent viewpoint overlooking the Pyrenees: the orientation table is no longer there.
(5) Resume the climb via a small tarmac path, ignoring the small flights of steps you come across. Reach the summit of the Pic du Jer (950 m). Beautiful views towards Lourdes, Pau, Tarbes and the Pic du Midi de Bigorre. Unfortunately, the viewing platform and its orientation table are no longer accessible.
(6) To avoid disappointment, I suggest taking a very short detour on the way down: instead of turning right at the bottom of the steps (the path taken on the way up), carry on straight ahead. Pass a small gate on your left, which leads to a view of the Tour des Angles – not particularly interesting – and arrive 30 metres further on at the next viewpoint.
(7) A lovely view of the peaks, the same as at (5) but, set amongst the copses, it’s even more beautiful. The path then bends and, after 50 metres, you’ll rejoin the tarmac path leading to the peak. The return journey follows the same route as the outward journey to reach the car park where you started (S/E).
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