Pic Fourcat

A lovely circular to do on foot in the summer, but also very pleasant on snowshoes.
Superb 360° view.
Several route variations are possible depending on your mood. See "practical information".

Details

3616166
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.39 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 639 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 639 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,928 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,364 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking at the intersection of the D613 and D20. Two possible access points:

  • Ax-les-Thermes, Col du Chioula, Col de Marmare, park in the car park.
  • Quillan, Belcaire, Prades, Col de Marmare, park in the car park.

(S/E) Opposite the car park, take the path on the left, heading north, which leads into the forest. On the right is the return track.

(1) When you come out of the forest, head for the fence opposite and follow it to the left until you reach Rocher de Scaramus.

(2) At the summit: be careful of the cliff edge of Rocher de Scaramus on the right. Stay to the left of the fence and continue climbing.

(3) Crossroads. Follow the fence to Pic Fourcat.
Option: from this point, you can cross the fence and descend into the valley to Fontaine d'Andouze, then turn right to reach point 9, marked on the OSM map.

(4) From the summit of Pic Fourcat, continue by crossing the fence on the right. Descend and reach a water reservoir.
Option: from the summit, descend via the same route back to the car park.

(5) Continue to the drinking troughs, then turn right, descending due east, then due south at elevation 1669, arriving in the forest, then due east again to a crossroads as you leave the forest.

(6) Stay on the track opposite, heading due east.

(7) Pass Col de la Gardie and turn right heading due south.

(8) At the crossroads, continue left along another track, heading south then south-west.
Option: take the track on the right that leads to Font d'Andouze. Then turn left to reach the crossroads.

(9) Stay on the track until you reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,365 m - Car park - Col de Marmare (1361m)
  2. 1 : km 0.57 - alt. 1,444 m - Exit the forest
  3. 2 : km 2.92 - alt. 1,858 m - Scaramus Rock
  4. 3 : km 3.46 - alt. 1,844 m - Crossroads - Return option
  5. 4 : km 3.88 - alt. 1,928 m - Pic Fourcat (1929m)
  6. 5 : km 4.72 - alt. 1,754 m - Water reservoir
  7. 6 : km 7.34 - alt. 1,610 m - Crossroads.
  8. 7 : km 7.78 - alt. 1,632 m - Col de la Gardie (1630m)
  9. 8 : km 8.2 - alt. 1,642 m - Crossroads - Return option
  10. 9 : km 10.01 - alt. 1,532 m - Crossroads
  11. S/E : km 12.39 - alt. 1,365 m - Car park

Notes

Completed on 18 July 2020. 5 hours 15 minutes without breaks.

The weather changes quickly in the mountains. Be careful and plan ahead.

Can be done on foot but is a very beautiful snowshoe hike (allow 30% extra time).
Can also be done in the opposite direction. The climb is much less steep, but the descent is steeper. Some nice slopes at ~30%.
Caution:

  • Apart from a few shaded sections in the forest, in summer, a hat and water are essential.
  • Electric fences.
  • In winter, check that the Marmare Pass is open ( Inforoute09).

Route with several options:

  • At the summit, return via the same route.
  • At the summit, return to (3), cross the fence and descend towards the valley to go around the Rocher de Scaramus. Head for Font d'Andouze, then towards (8) or directly towards (9).
  • At (8), turn right towards the Font d'Andouze water reserve, then continue left to reach (9).

Difficulties:

  • Orientation in foggy weather on off-road sections. Follow the GPS track carefully.
  • Watch out for herds of cows in the summer pastures. Depending on their position on the route, they may force you to make a few small detours. Also, be sure to close the gates behind you.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
JM58
JM58

Thank you for your comment.
The GPS track is one that I created and should make the hike easier and help you avoid getting lost.

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User 3762352
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The climb is at the start of the hike, but what a reward at the top of Fourcat! Magnificent views of the Pyrenean peaks.
A pleasant descent, part of which is through forest.

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JM58
JM58

Thank you for your comment.
I'm delighted that you enjoyed the hike.

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Dante31190
Dante31190

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It's quite a steep climb for the first two hours.
But all this with a very nice view.
Part of the trail through the forest is very pleasant. I recommend it 🥰😘

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JM58
JM58

I am delighted that you enjoyed the hike and thank you for your comment.

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Coco5933
Coco5933

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, great hike, very pleasant, beautiful scenery, but be aware that a large part of it is in the sun.
The first 4 km are quite steep, so you need to be in good shape. But if you take your time, it's fine.
Just after the summit, the path is unclear, so we had to follow the GPS track closely to reach the water reserve.
There is a beautiful 360° view at the summit and also beautiful panoramas throughout the descent.
Completed in 3 hours 50 minutes without breaks.

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JM58
JM58

Thank you for your comment.
I'm glad you enjoyed the hike.

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Sty31
Sty31

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike. Once you reach the summit of Pic Fourcat, you quickly forget the 600 metres of elevation gain over the first five kilometres of the route. There is a breathtaking 360° view once you're up there. Personally, I stayed there for over an hour, despite strong gusts of wind, with vultures flying overhead for a few moments. I didn't see a single other hiker that day during my outing; I had the place all to myself. At the start of the descent, we searched around a bit, as there weren't really any tracks. A glance at the GPS revealed a small reservoir at the bottom of the valley, which was a good landmark to pass by. After that, the paths were more clearly marked, so it was impossible to get lost. Then we took the mountain pasture paths to return to the starting point, alternating between shaded areas and meadows where we came across herds of cows and horses.

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JM58
JM58

Thank you for your comment.
Glad you had a great day!

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Patou63
Patou63

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
A very beautiful circular to do clockwise despite the (strenuous) climb to the Scaramus rock and then to Pic Fourcat. The arrival and the 360° view are the reward for your efforts. After Fourcat, it is easier to see the basin and point 1669 in that direction. After point 1669, there is a steep descent of about 100 metres, followed by a pleasant path to the car at Col de Marmare via Col de Gardie and Pla des Sept Cases. A beautiful 5-hour hike (excluding breaks) that is quite challenging.

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JM58
JM58

Thank you for this addition.

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Herdix
Herdix

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I only covered part of the route, but I just wanted to add that it is possible to cover the first 100 metres of elevation gain by car, via the track indicated on the return route. It is in good condition (as of 22/05/2022) and open to cars up to a car park located at the same latitude as point 1. It doesn't shorten the distance to be covered that much, but I thought this information might be useful to some. Please note that in this case, there may be a problem crossing the fence between points 1 and 4.
Otherwise, it's a superb hike!

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JM58
JM58

With great pleasure!

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clement17
clement17

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb hike!
The first part is really steep, but once you reach the top, you're rewarded!

Partially snow-covered up to the peak, then completely snow-covered after that.
We did the hike with crampons, which helped us a lot, especially on the descent from the peak.

The path between points 5 and 6 is difficult to see, so we strayed a little, but with the GPS we quickly found it again.

Thank you for this trail!

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gasperoni
gasperoni

SNOWSHOEING BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF SNOW IN THE HIGHLANDS AND IT SNOWED THIS WEEK, BUT I THINK THAT WITH CRAMPONS ON MY SHOES IT SHOULD BE FINE.

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