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Park in the small car park with around twenty spaces on the edge of the D8F on the Plateau de Coumebière. If the car park is full, you can park on the grass verge beside the road.
Markings GR® White and Red + PR® Yellow
(S/E) Cross the road and take the GR®, which starts opposite near an enclosure. Walk almost flat until you come to an intersection marked by a signpost.
Yellow PR® signposting
(1) Turn right following the "Étang de Labant" sign. Shortly after the first yellow marker, turn right to cross the ravine where a stream flows; there are no more markers but the path is clearly visible after the torrent. After a section of alpine pasture, the path enters a wood and emerges a hundred metres further on. Further up, don't miss the old rusty sign on the right indicating the presence of an old silver-lead mine. Turn right at the next junction (wooden signpost) and continue as far as Étang de Labant.
(2) Continue along the well-marked path, which rises again before leading to a ridge with a beautiful view of Aulus-Les-Bains and the Garbet valley. Continue left, following the signs. The slope, which is gentle at first, becomes much steeper before easing off again around 200m before the Col de las Fouzès.
(3) The view of the Étangs de Bassiès and the refuge of the same name is sumptuous and the pass makes an excellent picnic spot. Turn left, pass a small, perfectly preserved orri and walk for about a hundred metres.
(4) Shortly before a yellow mark on a rock on the ground, fork left. Be very careful as the start of the path is difficult to spot and easy to miss. Climb straight up (north) along the ridge to quickly reach the Pic de Cabanatous (2053m), the highest point of the hike.
(5) Exceptional 360° view. In the foreground, the Bassiès ponds, the Pique Rouge de Bassiès, the Pic de Belcaire and beyond, the great summits of the Ariège. Return to the previous junction.
(4) Take the path on the left and continue along the slope as far as Port de Bassiès.
Markings GR® White and Red
(6) Turn left to reach the Étang d'Alate, nestling in a very pretty spot at the foot of Mont Garias.
(8) Continue along the GR®, which rises steeply just before crossing a rocky spur. A few stone steps and a steel cable secure the passage.
Then begin the descent, which is very steep and made difficult by the many stones that roll underfoot, to reach the Port de Saleix.
(8) Turn left onto the GR®, which twists and turns and then begins a much steeper descent (the route of the GR® on the IGN map is incorrect here) before coming to a crossroads marked by a large signpost.
(9) Go left for a few metres and then fork right in a hairpin bend. At the next junction (another large signpost), continue left, cross a small wood and emerge onto the beautiful Coumebière meadow, where the path becomes a wide track.
Markings GR® White and Red + PR® Yellow
(1) Continue straight ahead until you reach the road. Cross the road to reach the car park (S/E).
