Pic d'Arrès and Pic d'Aubas from Portillon

A lovely, fairly challenging hike offering views of the Pyrenees.
Part of the hike is along the border ridge.

A good sense of direction, a GPX track and a map are strongly recommended.

Details

n°42540

Creation:
06 Oct 2013

Last update:
22 Jul 2025

Last review:
22 Jul 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 10.10 km
Average duration: 5h 25
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 897 m
Descent: - 894 m
Highest point: 2,157 m
Lowest point: 1,271 m

Country: Spain
Area: Pyrenees
City: Bossòst
Start/End: N 42.766771° / E 0.660493°
IGN map(s): Ref. 1848OT, 1848OTR
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

(S/E) Head south-west, following the track for 500 m.
Follow the yellow and white markings from the start to the end of the route to stay on the trail.

(1) Fork. At the first left turn off the track, look for a cairn on the right and climb up. This path crosses the track several times.

(2) At the last junction with the track, turn right south-west and continue along the same path in a south-westerly direction.

(3) Fork in the road. Join the track. You will then come to a hut with a sign indicating Col de Barèges. Look for the summer path that will take you to the pass. This path is well marked and will take you past a very large drinking trough (Bers fountain). From there, the same well-marked path will take you to the Col de Barèges (altitude 1749 m) without difficulty. You can drink water and enjoy the magnificent scenery.
At the pass, there are two huts, one of which is welcoming and has a fireplace.

(4) Fork in the path. Immediately after the hut and the large drinking trough, climb steeply to the left, heading east. You are now in Spain. Follow the ridge towards the first peak.

(5) Arrival at Pic d'Aubas (altitude 2071). The border is clearly marked by boundary stones.
Continue along this ridge, heading south-east, keeping the boundary markers in sight. The path then turns south.

(6) Pass the point at an altitude of 2062 metres. In half an hour, you will arrive at Pic d'Arrès (altitude 2161 metres). The spectacular view of the Pyrenees continues.
From this peak, descend gently to the right, heading due west along the ridge. Pass the point at an altitude of 2003 metres. Continue descending, aiming for the hollow of the Col de Barèges.

(7) Fork in the path. Take the beautiful trail on the right, heading northeast. Pass the small lake on your right. The trail then turns northwest, staying on the hillside. Reach the hut and the Col de Barèges (1,749 m).

(4) Alternative route. You are now in France. Return to the cars by retracing your steps or by following the track to (3) and then follow it again from (2) to rest your knees and return to the (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,273 m - Car park
1 : km 0.44 - alt. 1,315 m - Fork in the road. Track
2 : km 1.02 - alt. 1,451 m - Fork in the road. Track
3 : km 1.81 - alt. 1,594 m - Fork in the road. Track
4 : km 2.49 - alt. 1,753 m - Hut. Crossroads of the loop - Col de Barèges
5 : km 3.46 - alt. 2,066 m - Border marker. Ridge.
6 : km 4.72 - alt. 2,157 m - Border marker on the right, due west.
7 : km 5.6 - alt. 1,899 m - Fork in the road. Take the right fork.
S/E : km 10.1 - alt. 1,273 m - Car park

Notes

From Bagnères de Luchon, climb up to the Portillon pass via the D 618A. Descend 300 m towards Bossost on the Spanish side and park on the right at the start of a track in a left-hand bend.

There are two drinking troughs with spring water along the way.
There is a hut at the Col de Barèges (1,749 m) for shelter.

(4) Alternative: option to descend via the track.

(2) Alternative: you can descend via the track.

Worth a visit

Bagnères de Luchon is a town with many trees and flowers and an SNCF railway station (the track has been completely rebuilt).
Behind the pass is Spain.
Bagnères-de-Luchon

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5

Based on 23 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5

Route interest
4.7 / 5

Christelle1488

22 Jul 2025 at 09:33 7200

Hello,
I didn't say we got lost, just that the route wasn't visible.
And since we had to go up, we went up.
Thank you for your reply

Machine-translated

Christelle1488

21 Jul 2025 at 23:28 7200 • Edited: 22 Jul 2025 at 07:30 7200

We were very disappointed with this hike. The route for the second part, when you arrive at the two refuges, is completely impossible to find. We'll put that down to the fog.

Machine-translated

User 11954430

07 Jul 2025 at 13:46 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice, very pleasant hike

Machine-translated

dom487

12 Aug 2024 at 13:05 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

just be careful because the water points are rare, and if you bivouac, plan but otherwise super route

Machine-translated

Azimut.utm

15 Jul 2024 at 17:03 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

An interesting course for training
A constant gradient in a very pleasant setting.
Lovely loop!

Machine-translated

Yanntoc

19 Dec 2023 at 06:49 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Snowshoeing was great

Machine-translated

danielfr40

12 Jul 2022 at 14:40 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice walk, the trails are not difficult, between easy and medium depending on the section.
Some of the dry uphill sections can be avoided by taking the track as you recommend on the way back.
I was afraid of slipping on the way back but it grips well in dry weather.
In the shade until the last track crossing

Here a marker indicates the start of a path that turns into a grassy path up to the pass, which is obvious, further to the right of the 1st hut than the path in your trace, which I didn't find.

From the pass I climbed a little further to the right than you and came across a path marked with white and yellow stakes. It climbs just as steeply but the path is flat, easier than going up through the uneven clods. I didn't see the starting point.

I also saw a lot of people going up a wider path starting behind the second hut, with a reasonable gradient, climbing halfway up, then you should be able to climb back up the ridge to the pic d'aubas. This is the path on which we return.
Lovely views of the peaks. After the pic d'aubas, there's also a nice promontory.
On the way back from the pic d'arres to the col, there are no markings, so your track was very useful, thank you.
In fact, you descend along a ridge, where there are paths, but I prefer to see where I put my feet.
I crossed on the side a little higher than you, arriving at the second hut with a drinking trough.

In terms of interest, I hesitated between medium and good, even if the backdrop of distant mountains is magnificent and visible all the way round + the plunging views, it's still a mountain pasture hike with cows and horses, so it depends on your tastes.
Even on the Pic d'arres, which is a little steeper, I passed through an electric fence a few metres from the summit.
But after a long hike I enjoyed this 5-hour intermediate hike, which wasn't too hard and had a bit of shade in this heatwave.
Thank you

Machine-translated

PAFFONI

15 Nov 2021 at 09:31 3600 • Edited: 15 Nov 2021 at 09:33 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

From Luchon, access to the start of the hike is a little complicated because of the closed road to Spain (Covid measure). We parked in front of the stone barrier across the road on the side of the road and walked to the start of the hike: ~ 1 km on foot.

The climb was a little steep at the start, but there were some lovely views afterwards, and the descent was hard on the knees.

Machine-translated

V.31

10 Oct 2021 at 11:01 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk, especially after the forest track. Loop in the opposite direction (7-6-5) by mistake, but it's very easy.
Caution: impossible to access from Luchon (road closed)

Machine-translated

roques michel

12 Jul 2021 at 10:01 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

The path from point 2 no longer exists. We had to use the GPS and trace the way to point 3 (uprooted trees, very steep slope and tall, slippery grass). In fact, you just have to follow the yellow and white markings from the start to the end of the route to stay on the path. The section between 4 and 5 is the hardest, to discover with good visibility of the point to be reached, but a little long because of the steepness of the climb. A great walk, with beautiful views of the Luchonnais mountains.

Machine-translated

Loïc Vidaud

25 Mar 2021 at 15:06 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 23, 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 walk with magnificent scenery.

Machine-translated

alaval

01 Sep 2020 at 13:12 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The path is very well signposted all the way to the Col de Barèges. It's best to follow the markers rather than the map.
There are no more markers, or even paths, after that, but it's not difficult to find your way around... it's all uphill!
Superb scenery from the Tuc d'aubes.

Machine-translated

liliane.clarens

24 Sep 2018 at 17:36 7200 • Edited: 24 Sep 2018 at 18:59 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 22, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb views from the Col de Barèges, alive with horses, cows and goats.
A very sporty ascent to the Pics, and enjoy a well-deserved break to admire all the sumptuous peaks around you.
A very friendly meeting with a Franco-Spanish hiking association.
On this route, you'll see blueberries, crocuses and a few mushrooms.
The return journey takes us along the track, through a forest of fir trees bordered by giant ferns and a few flat rock faces with a veil of clear water.
Thank you to the author for this magnificent hike, which I really enjoyed. Ly

Machine-translated

martagon

03 Sep 2018 at 18:59 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Everything was perfect
At the beginning, with this heat, ideal the rise in the wood with markings white and yellow well present +girolles and boletus ...
Arriving at the pass, a picture postcard of sounds (clarions of the horses) and sights
numerous animals in the pastures, the Maladeta, vultures ....

Machine-translated

4002825844

03 Sep 2018 at 12:52 7200 • Edited: 03 Sep 2018 at 12:54 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Walked on 24/08/2018. Well marked route in the forest up to the pass and after the not obvious and steep route up to the first border marker.
Afterwards, very beautiful views and few hikers.

Machine-translated