Sarrat de Germa and the old Montgaillard Mines

Date of your route : Jan 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very interesting hike with abandoned mines to see.
At number 6, take the path on the right for 25 metres to the Tistoulet mines, a platform with veins of malachite (green) and azurite (blue). I couldn't find the open-air gallery that I had heard about, as I didn't go far enough to the right, but I'll try again next time.
At number 8, there is another beautiful excavation, which should be visited with caution by walking around it.
Just one note: if you're hiking with a dog, be careful at the start of Montgaillard, as there are two Patou dogs, one of which is free to roam. He's not vicious, but he wants to play and doesn't know his own strength. We had to fight him to defend our dog.

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Date of your route : Sep 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

There is no route to reach the mines after the Germa pass. The route to leave the last mines is particularly difficult to find. I took another one.

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Date of your route : Feb 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike done in February wearing a T-shirt. Clearly, some aspects of the route have been improved, particularly at the (famous) point 5 where the path to follow to the south-east is now clear and very accessible after the clearing. However, I couldn't find a path to climb up to Sarrat de Gemma...
However, I confirm feberand8544's observation: between 7 and 8, it is better to continue along the forest road. I tested the official route for you using a reliable GPS: it is an old path, still visible, but completely overgrown with vegetation and difficult to walk on.
Otherwise, minerals are everywhere, in the old mines, in the form of veins or gravel/pebbles, residues from mining operations. There are some nice veins in the open air at 6, at the start of the Chemin des Tistoulets. Mines are accessible by going down this path, but it's at your own risk. The most interesting mine is at 7, which is actually a cave with a collapsed ceiling. There is malachite on the walls. Nothing was found at 8 (it looks like the mine has been filled in).
Between the mines, there are magnificent landscapes of the Corbières and Mediterranean vegetation, with all the scents that go with it.
Enjoy your walk!

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Date of your route : Aug 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An interesting, easy walk, suitable for families. Yellow markings prevent you from getting lost if you read the guidebook too much.
Same comments as above regarding the approximate route and the positioning of the waypoints, which is not ideal.
Points of interest: climb to the top of Sarrat de Germa (not indicated in the walk), stop at the Montgaillard mines (the most interesting site is at the end of the walk) to admire the azurite veins.

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Date of your route : Jun 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We got lost. There were few or no markings. We discussed this with the Moor of Montgaillard, who promised to remedy the situation.

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Date of your route : Nov 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We completed this route in just under four hours one afternoon.
Relatively simple overall, the description and GPX route could be improved in two areas
of the route. Firstly, at no. 5, as previous hikers have mentioned, it could be worth mentioning
leave the main track at the pass and turn sharply left to the south-east onto the small path that starts
into the dense vegetation. And secondly, at No. 7, as already mentioned by ClaudeKiko in October 2018, you need to
continue along the forest track and follow it for a long way until you reach the hairpin bend to the left, in order to pass
point 8. The current problem is that, even if you have read the comments of hikers/internet users
who have gone before us, we have not necessarily printed out all this "literature" for the terrain, and we
are left with the author's (incorrect) description + his GPX track (which is wrong for this section). Shouldn't I nevertheless
thank the author of the route who "planted" us in 7 and ultimately... allowed us to find point 8 despite the abundant
vegetation growing on this old passage?

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Date of your route : Feb 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant little walk. I would categorise it as "moderately easy" as the climbs are not steep. Beautiful view of Montgaillard halfway along the route.
The only comment is at (5), when you reach the small pass, you can see the path that descends to the right into a valley, but the path to take is not obvious if you are not warned (there is no sign indicating to turn left at a right angle). We took the wrong path and had to retrace our steps for nearly 700 metres on a very steep slope.

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Date of your route : Jul 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Thank you for sharing this.

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Date of your route : Oct 21, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike with the mines as the main point of interest, but the route was a little longer than expected, and the return to the cars was monotonous uphill.

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Date of your route : May 19, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

slightly difficult descent before reaching the old mines

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Date of your route : Apr 01, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Beautiful hike with incredibly coloured stones. A few hesitations along the way. Fortunately, the signs were there.

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Date of your route : Oct 23, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Due to rockfalls downstream from the mines, which obscure the recommended trail, the proposed route (from 7 to 8) is not feasible. You must continue along the forest path to bypass the descent and arrive at point 8. This extends the route from 9.58 to 11 km.

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Good evening.

The route (on the map) does not need to be changed. It is the appearance of the area that has changed. Only a few details need to be added to the description.
For example, at (5), when you reach the small pass, you can see the path that descends to the right into a small valley, but the path to take is not obvious if you are not warned (there is no sign indicating that you should turn left at a right angle).
And at the bottom of the valley, the current main path is not the one you should take (in fact, I took the wrong path and the GPS made me turn back). What's more, the right path descends when you think it's going to ascend, so it's easy to make a mistake!

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Hello Azimut71,

Thank you for your comments and feedback.

I have just corrected the right/left error in point (3).

For the two changes you highlight, following the work, could you specify how the route should be modified? Thank you in advance.

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Date of your route : Jun 15, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The signage is good, and the directional signs are well placed.
The destructive machines have left the country. They have cleared blocked paths. But the vegetation is vigorous...
This work has caused two problems:

1. shortly after the summit (5), you reach a pass: you must leave the main path and take the trail on the left, before the hunter's perch.
2. At the end of the route, after crossing a stream, at the next fork, take the secondary path on the right that descends (blue dots). It crosses a second stream, then climbs back up through the broom to cross the ridge that separates us from Montgaillard.

Finally, I repeat after many other hikers (but the correction has still not been made): at (3), "At a fork immediately after a left turn, take the path on the right."

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