Pic d'Estaragne

Point No. 4 is at 2,800 metres, near a rocky peak, and is quite enclosed.
GPS devices often struggle to synchronise, and there is frequently a significant discrepancy between the track and the actual route.

It’s best to take a look around before setting off.
There are often cairns that help you ‘spot’ the tracks.

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Date of your route : Aug 12, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, but the route is poorly signposted at point 4.
The walk itself is superb, but the route is imprecisely marked at a critical point, which could prove dangerous.
Having set off at around 8 am, we arrived at point number 4 to find a pile of boulders where the trail marks on the ground were unclear and where the GPX waypoints, being too far apart, made it impossible to work out the correct route. A path on the left, which at first glance seems more inviting as it goes round the rocks, actually turns out to be extremely poor and dangerous: the slope becomes steeper and steeper, the ground gives way beneath your feet, and turning back quickly becomes impossible. The only option is then to carry on climbing up to the ridge, where you discover a ravine on the other side. You then have to descend a few metres and set off again at a 90-degree angle towards the west, over increasingly vertical boulders, to finally reach a small ledge where you can catch your breath and gather your wits. From there, a descent down an increasingly steep slope leads you, after a few nerve-wracking moments, back to the correct route.
Our advice: at point 4, it’s better to climb the rocks directly rather than heading off to the left towards what looks like an easier route, but isn’t. This mistake cost us a great deal of stress and energy, to the point that we had to abandon the final ascent of the Pic d’Estaragne: we would have had to climb another 200 metres, having just descended 100 metres to get back on the right track.
We came across other walkers who’d taken a wrong turn at the same spot that day, which confirms that you need to be particularly vigilant at this exact spot and check your direction carefully before setting off.

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Date of your route : Sep 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Confirmation that this is a very beautiful hike with magnificent scenery, with a slightly more difficult section on the ascent and descent near the summit. Note that up to "Point 1 - Junction of the two streams", the climb is not very steep: 120 m elevation gain over one kilometre. According to my GPS, the elevation gain is 920 m, but the round trip distance is 7.9 km.

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Date of your route : Aug 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
We did this hike on 23/08/2025 with our family, including two well-trained children aged 5 and 9, and we had a wonderful time. The description is very clear, and there are indeed two or three slightly more difficult sections (especially on the descent), but these are still perfectly manageable for people who are used to hiking at altitude.
An excellent choice for a first 3,000-metre hike.
Important note: the distance mentioned is only the distance to the Pic d'Estaragne! The round trip is more like 11km (completed in just under 5½ hours of walking).
Several marmots and griffon vultures were spotted!

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Date of your route : Nov 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A hike through snow-covered terrain, requiring crampons and ice axes for the final slope.
Beautiful, unspoilt scenery with large scree slopes towards the end.
We struggled to find the summit in the snow and to make out the barely visible cairns at the end of the route.
Beautiful ridges and a stunning view from the summit, with a bearded vulture making an appearance🤩
You mustn’t be afraid of heights and need to be well-prepared if you want to tackle a 3,000-metre peak in these conditions.
Otherwise, without all that, I think it’s clearly more accessible.
We ended up adding quite a few kilometres to make it 18 km, as after a certain date, a ban is in place preventing you from going any higher.
So we set off from the Artigusse car park.

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Date of your route : Oct 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant climb in fine weather. No sign of snow at the start of October. The view from the summit is superb.
Please note: between 1,700 and 1,900 metres, the path is harder to follow; some sections appear to have been washed away by landslides, and these sections require caution (avoid in wet weather).

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Date of your route : Aug 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, not too difficult for a keen hiker.

A few notes:
- car park = just after the small bridge as there are far more spaces
- the path is well marked
- several fairly steep sections, with a mix of earth and scree
- at point "2" in the description, no slippery sections, just a bit damp
- at point "4", you’ll need to use your hands for 4–5 metres, and on the way back there’s a bit of scrambling down.

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3,006 m on the IGN map

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Hello
Just a quick question... is the altitude 2,996 or 3,006 metres, as shown on other websites?!
Have a nice day

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