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The start is at the car park in Laroque-des-Albères, Rue Louis et Michel Soler.
If there are no spaces available on the street, look below next to the open-air theatre.
(S) Head south on Rue François Arago, which ends in a paved climb lined by two staircases. You will arrive at a square shaded by a plane tree. Cross it and turn left onto Rue de l'Église, which is a cul-de-sac.
(1) A sign provides information on possible hikes from here. ThePR® markings (yellow paint lines) were redone in 2013-2014. Follow the one that leads to Pic Néoulous.
Take the path that continues along Rue de l'Église. It is quite steep in places and leads to a track near a rectangular pond.
(2) Turn left onto the track opposite the pond. After about 100 metres, turn right at the crossroads and continue uphill, following the yellow PR® markings.
After about 400 metres, the track, which was previously passable by vehicle, becomes a path and then a trail. ThePR® markings are still visible (and will be throughout the hike).
Continue climbing. The trail passes to the right of the mountain ridge and levels out at an altitude of around 300 metres.
(3) You will come to a fork in the path. Straight ahead is the direction of the Col de l'Ouillat, and to the left is the Pic Néoulous.
Turn left and continue climbing.
The climb is steep and at around 600 metres above sea level, a sign on the left indicates the Dolmen de Balma del Moro. It is worth a detour.
(4) Take the steep path on the left, which leads there in about 50 metres.
Then, after returning to the main trail, continue climbing towards Pic Néoulous. At an altitude of about 800 metres, the trail crosses a firebreak and, after a steep climb of about a kilometre, joins a forest road.
(5) Turn right and walk along this forest road for about 600 metres until you find the Pic Néoulous trail on your left.
Continue climbing, and the trail passes near the source of Pic Néoulous (6) (Font del Puig Neulos in Calalan), which has been converted into a watering place for cows grazing freely on the mountain.
After a little more effort, you will reach the D71a paved road that leads to the Pic Néoulous radio relay station.
(7) The summit, marked by a stone column, is just above you.
You are at the summit of the Albères and an exceptional panorama awaits you.
Continue the circuit westwards, following the border marked by a barbed wire fence.
In addition to the yellowPR® markings, you will also see the red and white markings ofthe GR®10(the great crossing of the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean).
Walk along the border until the path approaches the road.
(8) At this point, the fence is closed by a metal gate, near which signs in Catalan indicate the presence of a snow well on the Spanish side.
Go through the gate to enter Spain and make a short detour to visit the snow well, which is about 200 metres away. An information board (in Catalan) provides some explanations on how ice was made.
Return to the French side, remembering to close the gate behind you, and continue downhill towards the Col de l'Ouillat.
At the Col de l'Ouillat, turn right onto the paved road (you will leave theGR®10but you are still on aPR® marked in yellow) and, about 100 metres further on (9), turn left onto the path that descends near a spring protected by a wooden railing.
Follow this path, keeping an eye out for the yellow markings as there are several junctions where you could go wrong.
When you reach an altitude of about 450 metres, you will cross the Laroque river (Ribera de la Roca).
(10) Two hundred metres after the river, you will pass a large, badly damaged snow well (you will need to move a few metres to see it).
(11) After the snow well, continue along the path and wade across another stream (12). The path climbs slightly before continuing its descent.
(3) You will pass the fork where, on the way there, you headed towards Pic Néoulous. Continue straight ahead; from now on, you will be following the same route as on the way there.
You will reach the track that leads to the rectangular basin, where you turn left onto the path that takes you back to the church street.
At the square with the plane tree, continue along Rue d'Arago until you reach the car park, which marks the end of the hike (E).
. I think I'll do this hike again but in the opposite direction, as I found the return trip more scenic.
Visorando Member
Moderate 
Tourist office
