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Caution The going is very difficult between (2) and (3) and on the descent after (4) due to numerous ferns and thick brambles.
The route starts from the main square in Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre, the Place des Arcades, home to the Town Hall and the Tourist Office.
(S/E) Take Rue du Barry, to the right of the Town Hall, then continue along Rue Labadie (or de l’Abadie) until you reach a five-way junction. Head straight on and go up Rue des Crouzettes, signposted ‘No Through Road’, running along the right-hand side of the garden with the palm tree.
The climb is gentle at first, then becomes steeper with a few short hairpin bends, until you reach the ridge (450m), shortly after the Clotte farm (below the road).
The small tarmac road then turns into a farm track.
(1) At the 424m mark, at a fork in the road between a track and a footpath, turn right onto a descending footpath.
Pass through a livestock gate and emerge onto a path between two fields.
Continue straight on for 30 m, alongside a hedge of fairly tall shrubs.
Enter the woods. Walk for 20 metres.
On the left, below the path, the Fontaine de la Lit and its long trough stand out clearly (a place known as Cloto dé Gaüte).
(2) Leave the fountain and the main path, which skirts round it at the top, on your right.
Look for a faint track on the left, and head straight up a narrow, sometimes muddy path to reach the bypass track to the north of the Montagnou de la Lit (also known as ‘La Lit’ or ‘L’Alit’).
As soon as you join the path, you will be entering private rural land (sometimes fenced with an electric fence, sometimes not), where cattle (and occasionally bulls…) may be grazing. Take the usual precautions when encountering herds.
As soon as possible, begin the ascent of La Lit heading due south, following cattle tracks, off the beaten track and without signposting. Make your way to the modest summit at 477m, winding your way through thickets of brambles and ferns.
These can be particularly abundant in spring and summer, but they have never completely blocked the path to the summit or, more importantly, the remarkable view to the south. You may need to persevere here at times.
At the summit, take the time to admire the surroundings and capture the beauty of the landscape on film or in your memory (see the section ‘During the walk or nearby’ below).
Make the most of being here to visit two of its most remarkable caves.
This section requires caution and the ability to walk off-trail and on slopes.
Follow the barbed-wire fence due east, staying within the field (and on the side facing the precipice), and descend about thirty metres along the sarrat (the ridge).
Continue down in this way until the slope levels off to the point of becoming almost flat.
On the left, in the meadow, there is a huge sinkhole overgrown with vegetation.
(3) Look for a large, solitary oak tree along the fence. Cross the fence where a faint path is visible all year round.
Twenty metres to the right, on the contour line heading south, lies the entrance to the Grotte de la Résistance, partly hidden by a small vertical rock, in a small clearing 5 metres in diameter with no ferns.
It is fairly easy to spot, as several tracks left by walkers and cavers lead to it. However, this varies depending on the season and, consequently, on the height of the ferns.
NB1: the building shown on the IGN map not far from (3) no longer exists.
NB2: Please note that, as with all caves marked by IGN, the position is not (exactly) as shown on the map; in this case, the exact position is quite a distance from the marker on the map, to the north-east, at least several tens of metres away!
For further information on the cave, see the section ‘During the walk or nearby’ below.
(4) Another track, still following the contour line but much less clearly marked and with a steep gradient, leads to the Tute Faiouias or Fayouye (tute = burrow or cave where an animal lives in Bigourdan/Gascon/Occitan).
Use two trees on the slope, about fifty metres from the entrance to the ‘résistance’, as landmarks.
This final section may be tricky for less mobile walkers or children. If this applies to you, it’s best to avoid it as a precaution!
The return journey follows the same route to the summit of La Lit. Head west from the summit, off the path and unmarked, pass through a few trees and follow the steep slope down through the ferns and a few footpaths towards the foot of La Lit.
You’ll easily rejoin the bypass path (which you left earlier at the Fontaine de la Lit).
Turn left onto this well-marked path.
Don’t miss an old, ruined lime kiln on the left (with a sign from the Tourist Office) and head towards an isolated barn, facing north-south.
Follow its east wall to reach its south gable.
NB: A wide, recently dug track, created by a digger, heads across the field towards the south-west. This track leads to the summit of Montagnou and its remarkable fir tree. However, the owner of the Poueyté farm has written to Visorando asking that people do not cross onto his land, even though there is no fence. So please stay on the main path!
Take the old path, heading south, as shown on the IGN map.
You’ll come to a small tarmac road leading to the aforementioned Poueyté farm.
(5) Then leave the farm on your right without entering the grounds near the buildings, and join theGR®®78path, also marked as route No. 10 by the Saint-Pé Tourist Office or the Way of St James.
Follow this historic path back to the village centre and the Place des Arcades (S/E).
NB: On the way down, you can pass by the picturesque statue of Notre-Dame-du-Montagnou, which watches over the village, on the right just before the first house in the village. (Tourist Office signposting is sometimes missing)
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