The Crêtes d'Auriste in the Barétous Valley

After a nice steady climb on a wide track, you come out onto a vast pasture area.
There are beautiful views throughout the climb, followed by a vast panorama from the top.
A geological curiosity: large blocks of pink puddingstone at the summit.

Details

n°184802

Creation:
11 Dec 2015

Last update:
07 Nov 2023

Last review:
10 Nov 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 10.25 km
Average duration: 4h 45
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 651 m
Descent: - 651 m
Highest point: 1,082 m
Lowest point: 440 m

Country: France
Areas: Pyrénées, Basque Country
District: Arette (64570)
Start/End: N 43.05029° / W 0.75916°
IGN map(s): Ref. 1446ET, 1546OT
Hour-by-hour weather

Avalanche risk assessment bulletin

Discover Visorando Premium

Downloads

Open in the mobile app

Download GPX GPX

Download PDF PDF

Photos

Description of the walk

Access: From Arette, follow the D132 towards La Pierre-Saint-Martin. After about 6.5 km, park on the left on a grassy area at a place called La Mouline.

(S/E) From the car park, cross the Vert d'Arette ford and join the main track that branches off to the left. Very quickly, it climbs in wide hairpin bends through the Bois de l'Oumbré-det-Hourcq, which provides some shade if needed.

(1) Every other bend offers beautiful views of the valley and the opposite slope. Continue climbing in more open terrain or along the edge of the woods

(2) You will reach the Cabane d'Auriste, located in a vast meadow where cows graze and goats prefer the steeper corners. This spot, with its distant views, is ideal for a well-deserved break.
Continue along the path, which veers slightly to the right. Just before reaching the highest point, look out for a pile of puddingstone boulders on the left.

(3) From the summit of Mail de Lerre, the view stretches towards the Pics d'Arlas and Anie beyond the Pierre Saint-Martin.

(4) When the trail begins to descend, turn around and return by the same route but downhill (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 441 m - Place called La Mouline. Cross the ford at - Vert (rivière) - Affluent du gave d'Oloron
1 : km 1.05 - alt. 572 m - Viewpoints
2 : km 3.4 - alt. 908 m - Pasture near the Cabane d'Auriste.
3 : km 4.75 - alt. 1,082 m - Puddingstone boulders
4 : km 5.1 - alt. 1,077 m - Turn around
S/E : km 10.25 - alt. 441 m - Place known as La Mouline

Notes

Dogs must be kept on a leash.
Steady climb on a wide track to the Cabane d'Auriste, then a gentler slope.

NB: Parking is available near the Mouline farm, where you can use a footbridge
when the ford is impassable.

Worth a visit

Arette has a museum commemorating the 1967 earthquake.

Barétous Valley

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5

Based on 25 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5

Route interest
4.4 / 5

Mariehelenestoltz

10 Nov 2025 at 09:05 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk with autumn colours and views of the Pierre Saint Martin resort, Pic d'Arlas and Pic d'Anie, all covered in snow.
Beautiful, curious horses.

Machine-translated

Vincent Lafori

10 Mar 2025 at 08:48 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike in good weather

Machine-translated

jaline

02 Oct 2023 at 11:20 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Wide trail, steady climb, beautiful view at the top. Great hike

Machine-translated

jdecor

03 Apr 2023 at 13:45 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely hike. It is possible to extend it a little by climbing up to Soum de Beratu (1,173 m), then descending towards the Auriste hut by joining a wide path that crosses the northern slope of Mail de Lerre at around 950 m. This allows you to make a small loop at the end of the hike.

Machine-translated

chantal64000

27 Jun 2022 at 09:26 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

another great discovery
so many beautiful idiots to explore
flowers and birds of prey

Machine-translated

MICHEL.SOL

22 Feb 2022 at 19:18 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It's a gentle climb up to the Lerre mail blocks, but for the view, it's better to climb up to the summit of Beratu, 100 m higher to the north. I did a loop following the ridge that leads to Coste Male via the Col de Bissourito and the Col d'Ire. The descent to the Biscay cross is straightforward, then it's off-piste and off the GPS track, but by more or less following the axis of the torrent, you reach the old, very congested track (brambles, shrubs, trees...) that leads back to the road, as flojoal indicated. Fun but no shorts allowed!

Machine-translated

Sectionpaloise

12 Jul 2021 at 10:55 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with magnificent views of the Barétounaise mountains.
How beautiful Béarn is!

Machine-translated

flojoal

08 Mar 2021 at 09:35 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant and easy walk. After receiving Lerre's email, we continued on and found a trail that allowed us to make a loop through the woods. We actually preferred this part, which was nicer than the trail we started on. It meant we had to walk along the road for about 600 metres, but it was fine as there were often wide verges. We ended up doing about 2 km more as a result.

Machine-translated

FLOCH

02 Aug 2020 at 21:06 7200

Thanks for the comment.
Too bad about the fog.
I also experienced it with my son in a light fog that made the herds appear and disappear.
Then it cleared up.

It's only a matter of time.
Best wishes for your continued success with Visorando.

Machine-translated

ATheMaBe

02 Aug 2020 at 19:59 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 23, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This hike is undoubtedly magnificent in good weather, but unfortunately, we set off early and were caught in thick fog that didn't lift until we were on our way back down. What a shame!
Otherwise, it was an easy walk, with a wide, well-marked trail to the Auriste hut, where we were joined on the way back by a herd of very curious semi-wild horses.
Then the trail becomes less well marked in the meadow, but it forms large grassy furrows and quickly widens again until the summit, where we couldn't even see the pink pudding stones! Visibility was 5 metres...
1 hour 50 minutes there, 1 hour 10 minutes back without pushing ourselves... not counting the breaks, of course, especially the one with the horses.
We only came across two people in total, probably due to the weather.
To be repeated in very good weather, for the photos.

Machine-translated

loki64

15 Jun 2020 at 18:43 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

a parish-specific to Brittany walk along the ridges, after a short, challenging climb. Very pleasant

Machine-translated

MGSN85

25 May 2020 at 11:21 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk with a shaded descent without feeling enclosed, offering stunning views of the Basque-Béarnaise mountains.

Machine-translated

FLOCH

13 Jan 2020 at 14:07 3600

Thank you for your comment.
I didn't specify Basque Country; the location is general and is indicated directly by the software: Pyrenees, Basque Country.

I am aware that this hike is located in Béarn, but unfortunately the software does not yet have a section for the Pyrenees, Béarn.

When I did this hike during my stay in Arette in 2012, the picnic table must not have been there yet.

Best regards

Machine-translated

Saint savin 40

13 Jan 2020 at 11:55 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

i don't understand why you've put this hike in the Basque Country when the village of ARETTE is in Béarn. Watch out for local rivalries!
wouldn't it be better to specify that the start is just a hundred metres or so after the picnic area? I parked there because there's also a grassy area opposite
otherwise, the hike is very nice and not difficult, with superb landscapes and views of the PIERRE ST MARTIN, PIC D'ANIE and others. Really nice

Machine-translated

FLOCH

23 Sep 2019 at 10:26 7200

Hello,

That's a surprising comment.

At no point in the description are any signs or markings mentioned.
Furthermore, there is only one track suitable for 4x4 vehicles.
See the review by VR jeanluc.b on 4 August 2019
"You may encounter friendly local farmers, who drive 4x4s or quad bikes and always stop for a chat."

The other reviews are of a different nature.

Best regards.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.

Author

FLOCH
468 Walks

Visorando member

District: Quimper (29000)

Machine-translated walk - Original version

Walk map

Bigger map and chart