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The starting point is at the Pla de las Peyres car park. To get there, follow the N20 to Tarascon sur Ariège, then continue towards Andorra. Once you have passed the village of Sinsat, turn right towards Les Cabannes / Aulos / Plateau de Beille. After this turn, drive through Aulos and continue towards Aston/Barrage de Laparan. Drive through Aston, following the signs for Barrage de Laparan (the road is well signposted). It will take you at least 30 minutes to drive from the Aston exit to the Laparan dam (not the first one, which is small, but the second one, which is huge). You can't miss the dam (which is just over 100 metres high). Once you have passed the dam, continue along the road until you can't go any further. For your information, the road is very bumpy from the dam onwards. However, I advise you to go to the end of the road to avoid extending the hike on an uninteresting trail. This will take you to the Pla de las Peyres car park (allow about 45 minutes between Aston and this car park). At the time of writing, the car park is being developed to accommodate an estimated 250 spaces.
(S/E) Plan de las Peyres car park: continue on foot until you come to a sign indicating the start of the hikes. Follow the road to the Refuge du Rulhe. The trail is very well marked and easy to follow, so you can't go wrong. After about 1 km, you will come to a fork in the road with a sign.
(1) At this point, turn left towards Refuge du Rulhe and start the short climb.
(2) You should soon see a large hut in front of you. You may find Mérens, a distinctive breed of horse, there. You can also see the Refuge du Rulhe in the distance. The climb is steep and long but not technically difficult to reach the Refuge du Rulhe.
(3) Leaving the refuge, follow the sign for Col de Joclar and begin the descent towards Estenol.
About 1 km after starting the descent from the refuge, you will come to a fork in the path.
(4) Continue left towards Col de Joclar. Shortly afterwards, you will arrive at the edge of a small, unnamed pond where there are a few tricky passages with stone platforms, but nothing too complicated. A few hundred metres further on, you will see the Étang de l'Estagnol.
(5) Take the time to admire this pond, wedged between Pic Negre de Joclar on your right (recognisable by its vertical peak, popular with climbers) and Pic de Rulhe on your left (the closest to the refuge), Pic de Fontargente and Pic de Joclar. Walk along the right side of the pond and begin the climb.
(6) Begin the steep (see elevation diagram) and rocky climb. You will also walk alongside a beautiful waterfall. It should also be noted that there are a few less obvious passages where you will need to use your hands, but this is nothing like rock climbing. You will come out at the Étang de Joclar.
(7) Walk along the left side of the lake, following the red and white markings. The trail climbs up to the Col de Joclar.
(8) Begin your return to Col de Juclar. First retrace your steps, descending towards Étang de Joclar (on the French side), then take the descent towards Estagnol, continuing on to the small, unnamed pond. You will reach the crossroads leading to the Rulhe refuge.
(4) Turn left and follow the yellow markings (the markings are not very obvious, but there are cairns everywhere to guide you).
Cross the path and after about 2km, you will find yourself back at the large hut at the foot of the climb to the Rulhe refuge.
(2) Continue downhill along the same route you took on the way up to reach the Pla de las Peyres car park (S/E).
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