The Montagnou de la Pâle caves in the Très-Croutz Forest

The start is just past Ferme Cacha, at a bend in the road. Park your car in the small two-space car park.

(S/E) Turn right off the road (in the direction you came from) onto the yellow-marked trail towards Le Pladi. N.B. The start of this hike is also identified as “Route No. 4” or “Karst Discovery Trail” by the Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre Tourist Office, and is marked in green.

Follow the bends along a wide path that is a bit rough at the start. At signpost 759, you’ll see a large sinkhole to the right of the path (with traces of old mountain bike jump ramps).

805 m after the start, at elevation 570, you’ll find the entrance/exit to the Grotte de la Bouhadère or Porche de la Bouhadère (which blows cool air in summer) to the left of the path. It lies a few metres back from the path, immediately below, marked by a signpost.
Equipped with a torch and a helmet, you can pass through its low entrance and enter a first chamber where more than ten people can stand upright. Do not follow the winding passage leading out of this chamber, as you will quickly come across a dangerous 11-metre-deep shaft.

On your way back out and returning to the path, on the right as you climb, a little higher up, there is a small gaping hole. This is another entrance/exit to the Grotte de la Bouhadère. You can even spot a third, much smaller one in the ledge below and to the right of the second hole.
All three holes lead into the same cavity of the Bouhadère.

Walk back down the Yellow/Green path for a few dozen metres and, at^{the first} signpost at the junction, take a secondary path on the left, marked only in green, which leads in 5 minutes to the so-called Entrance No. 1 of the Grotte de la Pale.

(2). A little further along this same path, you reach the two so-called Entrance No. 2s of the Grotte de la Pale (or Gabarrets Caves or Soleil No. 2).

Then retrace your steps and, at the crossroads, rejoin the main Yellow/Green path by heading up to the right and passing once more in front of the entrances to the Grotte de la Bouhadère. Continue the ascent. At a further junction with a second signpost (elevation 630), take a new secondary path on the right, marked in green and signposted “Sentier du milieu”.

After a few hundred metres, you reach a signpost. Just before this signpost, a small path branches off uphill to the left. It is in a small ravine marking a fault line that the Grotte des Coumates, or Tute des Loirs, opens up.

Return to the secondary path marked in green and continue along it to the left. After a few hundred metres more, you will reach a sharp limestone pavement where you will need to use your hands to climb over a small ledge.
Proceed with extreme caution, as the area can be dangerous, to reach the monumental vertical entrance to the Gouffre du Hayau, hidden behind the rocks. A 30-metre shaft prevents entry without equipment.
When cavers enter this cave, they emerge at the Grottes de la Bouhadère after descending more than 100 metres underground; this is known as a traverse.

(3) Retrace your steps eastwards along the secondary path marked in green, pass the Sentier des Coumates again, and well before the junction with the main path, take a small but clearly marked path on the left which, following the contour line, leads to the Crèque Noèle cave in 5 minutes. It is a charming little cave that you can enter standing up with no equipment other than a torch, or perhaps a helmet (and which is worth a visit in its own right).

Retrace your steps eastwards to the secondary path marked in green, then to the main path marked in green and yellow, and continue the ascent straight ahead. You will reach a flat area. At the multi-directional signpost “Sentier karstique-Ferme Soulas-Ferme Cacha” on the right, continue straight ahead. Pass one of the boundary markers for the undivided forest of Saint-Pé on the right—here a simple rock engraved with the number 110 and painted red and white.

At the signpost (and a temporary marker), climb up to the right of the path and find the vertical entrance to the Gouffre de la Borne 109. This sinkhole is marked by a steel bar above its entrance and a wooden barrier providing basic protection. Take care in the vicinity, however!
This marks the end of the hike.

(5) Retrace your steps along the main path back to the Cacha farm car park (S/E).

The mountain ridge we are interested in today (or ‘chaînon’ – a ‘sarrat’ or ‘serra’ in Gascon) is that of La Pale, topped by the Picoulets ridge (meaning ‘little peaks’).
Traversed for centuries by pastoralists and foresters – the ‘eths pastre’ (shepherds) and ‘eths ahumats’ (charcoal burners) – this ridge was also explored in the mid-20th century by Father Bernard Abadie, who discovered most of the remarkable caves throughout the Saint-Pé massif, and particularly here:

• Grotte des Coumates
• Gouffre de la Borne 109
• Hayaü Chasm
• Bouhadère Cave
• Grotte de la Pâle (or des Gabarrets)
• Crèque Noèle, ...

Warning
The locations of the caves on the IGN map are very approximate, if not completely inaccurate; do not rely on them. OpenStreetMap is a better option.

Estimated time
I completed this route in 3 hours, including breaks. This is a fairly generous estimate.

Shelter
Only the entrance porch of the Bouhadère cave may possibly serve as shelter in the event of a heavy rainstorm or hail.

Equipment
Bring the usual equipment for a short route in the mid-mountains (hiking boots, suitable clothing, rainwear, water, some food, a knife, a compass, a map, a whistle, etc.).

Flora and fauna
The vegetation in this mountain range reflects the severity of soil dryness due to the terrain and the highly permeable nature of the substrates
. This is a south-facing slope, very sunny, well sheltered and quite arid. On the northern slope, it is quite different, with a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees: boxwood, birch and hazel—two pioneer forest species—along with larch, American red oak and beech—two species that colonised the forest in the late 19th century—as well as Douglas fir and spruce. On the ground and on the trunks, mosses and ferns take centre stage.
The wildlife is mainly aerial: many birds of prey live within the reserve.

Geology
We recommend consulting the guide published by the Saint-Pé tourist office, which provides an excellent description of the environment: a nature trail through karst terrain.

Nearby attractions
- The town of Lourdes;
- The Batsurguère valley;
- The village of Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre, the village itself, its cultural heritage, its events, the Très Crouts forest and the Pibeste-Aoulhet Regional Nature Reserve, water sports;
- The Bétharram Caves;
- The Gaves Valley,