The Cabins of La Lit

de fr

In the footsteps of Georges Buisan, born in 1924 in Montréjeau (Haute-Garonne) and resident in Tarbes, he spent his childhood in Bigorre.
His interest in the mountains led him to spend several years researching shepherds' huts.
Georges Buisan has since passed away, but he leaves behind him, with this Courtaou de la Lit, which he restored over a period of thirty years, an original legacy and a powerful message.

Details

n°85598
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.90 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 465 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 465 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,510 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,065 m
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Photos

Lodges
The cabins at Lits
The cabins at Lits
Commemorative plaque

Description of the walk

Coming from Bagnères de Bigorre, shortly after the village of Baudéan, whose church is notable for its distinctive bell tower, turn right towards the Vallée de Lesponne. Towards the end of this valley, about one kilometre before Le Chiroulet, a forest track starts on the right. Leave this track a little further up and park in a small car park, which is the starting point for this walk.

(S/E) Continue along this track towards the forest until you reach a chain blocking access to vehicles.

(1) Go over it and take the track that climbs steeply for about 300 metres until you reach a crossroads with a path.

(2) Take this path on the left through the forest. Climb steeply and cross the track several times.
You will arrive at a small stream where you can take the time to refresh yourself.

(3) Cross it and reach the edge of the forest to come out onto the Lit plateau.
Discover Les Cabanes de la Lit, most of which have been restored by Georges Buisan. Admire the work that has gone into this restoration.

(4) Take the same route back to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,065 m - Parking upstream from Chiroulet. Close to the - Adour de Lesponne (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.23 - alt. 1,096 m - Chain
  3. 2 : km 0.77 - alt. 1,174 m - Trail junction
  4. 3 : km 2.15 - alt. 1,449 m - Small stream
  5. 4 : km 2.85 - alt. 1,500 m - Lit cabins
  6. S/E : km 5.9 - alt. 1,065 m - Parking upstream from Chiroulet

Notes

Good walking shoes, backpack, rain jacket, water.
Water source 50 metres from the huts.
Open cabin.

Worth a visit

The Blue Lake of Lesponne.
Peyrelade Lake.
Ourrec Lake.
The Pic du Montaigu.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 28 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
ddespa
ddespa

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

In addition to greater heritage value.

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User 26703365

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

A good route for starting or ending your holiday.
The route does not take you to the cabin, but it is worth adding an extra 15 minutes to your trip.
One thing to watch out for: once you reach the plateau, the ferns are enormous at this time of year and it's quite dangerous if you don't know where you're going.
One last thing: in rainy weather, it's better to take the forest path because the forest is very slippery.
That's it, nothing more to say except that it's magnificent once you get to the top.

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User 23560404

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

pleasant hike, shaded in the first part. The cabins are worth seeing. Return through the woods and the yellow cabin near the springs to complete the loop. There is no real path from the plateau to the cabin.

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Le Taurupt
Le Taurupt

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Easy climb in a cool forest, but monotonous.
Only the area around the cabins is open and offers views of the mountains.
There is not enough shade for picnics at the huts, which are open but rather dirty and cramped inside.

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Philippe Grillet
Philippe Grillet
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

a very pretty walk, enjoyable on snowshoes in winter

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Vieux débris toxique
Vieux débris toxique

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk to warm up for two hours.

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SarahEAM
SarahEAM

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with a splendid view upon arrival at the Cabanes sur le Pic du Midi. With our two children aged 6 and 10, we mainly followed the forest path for simplicity, except for a ramp on the way up to break up the monotony of the climb. For the descent, only the forest path is very easy. The huts are magnificent and there is a peaceful and serene atmosphere. We decided not to climb up to the hut above because it was in full sun with huge ferns!

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Guillaume310000
Guillaume310000
• Edited:

Hello,

I would like to know if the path is constantly in the sun or if there are trees providing shade?

And is it possible to sleep there? After all, that's what mountain shelters are for, right? 🙂

And to meet other hikers, perhaps more experienced, with whom to chat about the best trails.

Also, do you know of any public transport options for getting there (departure/return by train from Toulouse)?

Thank you in advance for your reply

Best regards

Guillaume

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Pascalh
Pascalh

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike through the woods that ends at a cirque and some beautifully restored traditional huts.
The climb is steep, however, and there are no false flats before the finish.

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Elvire64
Elvire64

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The route was very poorly marked, as the trail cut across all the forest paths instead of following the trail

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Manue rando
Manue rando
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route for this hike is hardly marked at all! There are no signs, so thank goodness for Google Maps! The only landmarks are small piles of stones or cairns left by other hikers, so be careful!

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Lalit
Lalit
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I recommend following the track on the way up for greater comfort, as the slope is quite steep if you cut the corners by taking the path marked by cairns.
This hike is relatively uncrowded because the Courtaou de la Lit site is still relatively unknown.

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Katrin'
Katrin'

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful hike, done on a sunny Sunday (2 hours round trip, taking my time).
There were quite a few people on the trail, including hunters... so the shortcuts weren't accessible and I made the climb via the long switchbacks of the forest trail. It was still great, though, and the view of the Lit huts is spectacular, with a few snowfields clinging to the ridges. Visit the huts, they've been really well restored and the story of George Buisan (who initiated the project) is told from hut to hut...

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Carib
Carib
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Really nice hike...
You spend some time in the forest on the way up, which is a bit steep in places and makes the kids complain (!!), but once you're out of the forest, you come to a large treeless area with ferns, and eventually you catch sight of the famous cabins of La Lit.
There's a beautiful view of the Pic du Midi... visit the huts, they're really cool, very cool and what a job restoring them must have been. Spending the night in a hut must be really fun!
There's a little stream winding between the huts with cold water for your feet, which is very pleasant... we had a great time in the mountains!

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Le Chatelet
Le Chatelet

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

nice route. Suitable for families. We had a picnic at the De La Lit cabins.

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