In the footsteps of d'Artagnan in Lupiac

Between the Douze and Auzoue valleys, the village of Lupiac, perched on a hill, is crossed by the Chemin de César, an ancient Roman road also known as the Ténarèze. A fortified village, Lupiac belonged until 1792 to the Batz family, known for the most famous of the Gascons: d'Artagnan.

Details

290104
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 18.37 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 293 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 293 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 249 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 148 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Lupiac (32290)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.6821° / E 0.183182°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1743SB
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from Place du Foirail in Lupiac.

(S/E) Head east on the D37 towards Belmont. At the fork near the stadium, continue left on the same road.

(1) At the next fork, at a place called Trianon, turn left onto a tarmaced local road. Leave the Château de la Plagne on your left and continue on the tarmac road to a place called Pitre.

(2) Turn right towards Larochelle and follow the white stone path. Pass a viewpoint and, at a place called Moundet, make a hairpin turn to the left. Cross a stream and climb up to Larochelle.

(3) Continue east-northeast. After about 200 metres, turn left and take a sunken lane. Follow this lane north then northwest until you reach a small road.

(4) Follow the road to the left, passing Mazous and then Casquil.

(5) At the fork just after Lartigue, turn right. After Sales, ignore the road on the left and continue straight ahead. At the next crossroads, turn right towards the hamlet of Cahuzères.

(6) Pass the chapel, turn left (north-east) and go down the path. At the bottom of the valley, turn left (north).

(7) At elevation 81, turn left, go back up and follow a path westwards. Pass the hamlet of La Mousquère, ignore a turn-off on the right and reach a three-way junction near the hamlet of Souragnac.

(8) Turn sharply left and follow a local road south.

(9) At the crossroads after Brana, continue straight ahead, veering to the left, along the shaded sunken lane towards Bois de Clarac. Descend to Ruisseau de Clarac.

(10) Cross the stream and climb up opposite. After about 250m, turn right and return to the bank of the stream. Follow it on your right for about 250m, then turn left and climb up into the woods.

(11) At the crossroads, continue west and descend towards the Gélise stream. Cross it, climb back up and reach the D102.

(12) Cross the road, continue straight ahead and pass the Saint-Jaymes farm. Cross the stream of the same name and join the D174.

(13) Cross the road and then the Douze river and continue along a small tarmac road.

(14) At the three-way junction at Maisons de Saint-Laurent, turn left (south). At the T-junction, turn left and pass the Herranet farm. Then take a wide path east and then south-east.

(15) At the crossroads, turn left and cross the Douze river. Go up the path (east), leaving the Lahitte farm on your left, and you will come out onto the D102 again.

(16) Take the road on the right and enter Lupiac. Cross the village square and you will find the Place du Foirail on your left (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 243 m - Lupiac - Place du Foirail
  2. 1 : km 0.79 - alt. 231 m - Trianon
  3. 2 : km 1.75 - alt. 227 m - Pitre
  4. 3 : km 3.34 - alt. 191 m - Larochelle
  5. 4 : km 4.5 - alt. 226 m - Mazous
  6. 5 : km 5.16 - alt. 237 m - Lartigue, on the right at the fork
  7. 6 : km 6.24 - alt. 230 m - Chauzères Chapel
  8. 7 : km 7.31 - alt. 183 m - On the left, at elevation 81.
  9. 8 : km 8.66 - alt. 227 m - Souragnac
  10. 9 : km 9.59 - alt. 231 m - Brana
  11. 10 : km 10.23 - alt. 178 m - Clarac stream
  12. 11 : km 11.39 - alt. 208 m - Crossroads of forest trails.
  13. 12 : km 12.31 - alt. 212 m - Crossing the D102
  14. 13 : km 13.47 - alt. 149 m - Crossing the D104 - Douze (rivière)
  15. 14 : km 14.22 - alt. 157 m - Domaine de Saint-Laurent with its chapel in the distance.
  16. 15 : km 16.17 - alt. 157 m - Crossroads - Elevation 157
  17. 16 : km 17.52 - alt. 229 m - Route D102
  18. S/E : km 18.37 - alt. 243 m - Lupiac - Place du Foirail

Notes

Also accessible by mountain bike and on horseback.

Worth a visit

In Lupiac, between (16) and (S/E):
- D'Artagnan Museum.
- Saint-Jacques Chapel.
- Saint-Barthélémy Church (16th century).
- Equestrian statue of D'Artagnan, work of Daphné Du Barry.
- Houses with arcades and covered galleries from the 13th and 14th centuries.

(6) Chauzères Chapel with cob walls.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
Fural
Fural

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Route completed with a small group of six walkers.
No trouble following the route, with the help of the map and the IGN road.
You can discover the typical landscapes of the Gers, but without the vineyards.

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skargo
skargo

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A hilly, shaded and very pleasant route, but take care in hot weather on the sections of road
skargomically

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ecapekip
ecapekip

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely 18 km walk, but it hurt our legs in the last few hundred metres as we were threatened by a storm...
We followed the GPS track without any difficulty.

Thank you
Anne and Pascal

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moguyonnet
moguyonnet

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The route was completed in partly cloudy weather. It was a shame that the view of the Pyrenees was a little obscured, but there were some beautiful panoramic views of the rolling countryside. No particular difficulties thanks to good yellow markings, which are sometimes relayed or even doubled by the markings for the "Route d'Artagnan" and specific blue markings for "d'Artagnan on foot, on horseback, by bike", which turn red for the 18 km route at the 14 km variant. Clear description. Alternating between dirt tracks, woodland paths and small tarmac roads. Some nice climbs and descents. Visit to the village of Lupiac with an interesting d'Artagnan footprint. Thank you for all your hard work on this route.

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello

Thank you for your feedback.

But the signposting saved me. ;-)

If waymarking is essential for you, Visorando provides virtual waymarking: a GPS application.

This tool, offered free of charge by Visorando, allows you to validate waypoints and thus remove any doubts about orientation.

Visorando mobile application

Kind regards

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vlerk
vlerk

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A wonderful hike through valleys and forests.
— Yellow "PR 1" markings
— Hike completed without any problems using the Visorando description and map (no GPS).
— View of the Pyrenees between markers 4 and 5.
— Marker 10: for me personally, the description and map were not enough for the passage through the Bois de Clarac, but the markings saved me. ;-)
— Quite a lot of tarmac, but also dirt tracks.
— From markers 14 to 16: the last valley in particular is very, very beautiful.
Many thanks!
---
Vlerk
(I am not a native French speaker. Please excuse me if my rudimentary French leads me to write nonsense or offensive things.)

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vetela
vetela

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I have done this hike twice using the shorter route (14 km). The route follows small roads, tracks and paths. It is well signposted and allows you to enjoy the main attractions of the Gers countryside: half-timbered houses, sunflower fields, pastures, vineyards... It is enchanting. The route can be completed in 3 to 4 hours.

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bigorre65
bigorre65

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 23, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The walk is very pleasant, ending in season with refreshments at the lakeside café.
The path that leads back to the stream, at the pidgeon hunting hut in the Clarac woods, no longer seems to be maintained, but if you continue straight ahead, you will quickly find the route again (I notice that Sandrine has already made this observation).

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Roroboubou
Roroboubou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk combined with the Lacoste Lake hike, two really peaceful routes at this time of year. It was a very enjoyable day. Unlike many other places, the Gers countryside is very clean and well maintained. There is some construction work going on, but it won't last long. It's a shame that the creator didn't include the detour to Castelmore Castle, but perhaps they could add a small optional circular...

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sogeco
sogeco

It should be noted that it was only afterwards that I realised I was on the wrong path; at the time, I thought the construction site was passing over it!

I can confirm that it can be dangerous to walk through the construction site. Fortunately for me, it was closed and only the ruts really bothered me.

As I don't know how to attach a photo to my comment, here is a link to my blog post about this hike: http://sogeco31.blogspot.com/2018/04/sur...

I hope that this will help those interested in this hike to see where to go, as it's not very obvious when you're there...

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you, Sogeco, for this information.
Indeed, do not get too close to the gas pipeline construction site as there are many dangers: trenches, very heavy pipes that can roll, moving machinery, etc. Take it from a former gas worker in charge of laying gas pipelines.

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sogeco
sogeco

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 18, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Please note that after the hamlet of Cahuzères, you will come across the RGM gas pipeline construction site, which may cause you to lose the trail. Do not follow the construction site; instead, try to find the trail, which continues slightly to the right.

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Sandrine M1.
Sandrine M1.

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant walk, signposted throughout, even if the signs are sometimes difficult to see.
At marker 10, it is impossible to turn right as indicated in the description (there is no path!), but it is fine to continue straight ahead along the path that crosses pidgeon hunting huts.

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