Tour of Joseph's Chapel in Bastide-de-Sérou

A pleasant walk through the woods via the Chapelle Joseph, an excellent picnic spot with views of the Pyrenees

Details

1846041
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.49 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 181 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 181 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 563 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 394 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking behind the school in La Bastide-de-Sérou.

(S/E) Cross the Arize via the iron footbridge, heading towards the stadium. Follow the yellow markings. Walk along the stadium, following the small road to the east. It turns south. Continue straight ahead and follow the Lagarde path. You will arrive at the Lagarde barn.

(1) Take the dirt track on your right. This track follows a stream, so some parts are very wet and slippery (but not particularly dangerous). Continue until you see a small sign indicating the location of the chapel.

(2) Continue straight ahead along the path marked with yellow signs.

(3) At the star-shaped crossroads, take the path furthest to the right and follow it in the shade of the trees. After a while, after an uphill climb, you will come to a wider path; turn left towards the west.

(4) At the end, at a T-junction, turn right (north) through the gate. Continue along the path, taking care not to scare the grazing animals (cows, sheep, etc.)

(5) Next to a water collection point (in the field on your right), take the path on the left that leads directly to the hamlet of Sourre, to avoid a detour via the Tuilerie farm (huge, heavy iron gate and noisy dogs...).
Cross Sourre and continue down the small road towards the D117.

(6) Turn right. Caution! This is probably the most dangerous part of the route: for greater safety, cross the road and continue behind the hedge. Further on, you will find a tiny pavement. Cross it just before the road bridge towards the stadium to rejoin the small bridge you took earlier on the path. Cross the Arize again to reach the school car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 395 m - Car park behind the school - Cross the - Aryze (rivière) à finaliser
  2. 1 : km 0.8 - alt. 417 m - Dirt track on the right
  3. 2 : km 1.47 - alt. 532 m - chapel fork
  4. 3 : km 1.84 - alt. 531 m - Turn right at the Nescus crossroads
  5. 4 : km 2.91 - alt. 560 m - Intersection with gate
  6. 5 : km 3.64 - alt. 489 m - At the water catchment, turn left towards the village
  7. 6 : km 4.83 - alt. 395 m - Junction D17
  8. S/E : km 5.49 - alt. 395 m - Car park behind the school

Notes

Take enough water to drink during the walk.
Good walking shoes with studs for the climb, which can be muddy after rain.

Worth a visit

Chapel Joseph is a monolith carved by the shepherd Joseph so that he could pray without having to go down to the church...

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 17 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
3.9 / 5
Luciani Marie jo
Luciani Marie jo

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Not a difficult route, quite shaded, pleasant. No navigation issues when using the GPX track. The last part on the road is not a problem.

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Tcha
Tcha

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Best done in dry weather to avoid too much mud on the first part of the path. Wear sturdy footwear.
The chapel is indicated by a sign placed a little high up, which is easy to miss. You need to enter a field to the right of the path through a gap in the fence. There is a beautiful woodland path after the chapel.
We had no problems with gates or dogs at the Tuilerie farm.
The section along the road at the end is rather unpleasant, with no protected path. Improvements would be welcome.
Very pleasant overall. An easy family hike.

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User 3500056

Very pretty route with few hills and a pleasant walk through the woods.
Definitely worth discovering!

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CHELGEN
CHELGEN
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk around the fortified town, with a very friendly encounter with the residents of a small hamlet.

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User 3500056
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful views of La Bastide de Sérou, not many people there that day.
Pleasant hike

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pit31
pit31

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful hike that I enjoyed doing

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rolandsalinie
rolandsalinie

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

A pleasant circular, except for the very slippery start of the trail.

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MaryS
MaryS

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Spectacular hilly landscape with a few climbs to give you the feeling of a good walk (!). The only downside is that you have to walk along a main road at the end (this is mentioned in the description). It's not far from there to the starting point, but it's unpleasant to end a beautiful walk like that. If I do it again, I'll come with a friend who will park her car at the funeral parlour and we'll park mine at the starting point. That way, it would be perfect as a short walk in the countryside!

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Thierry-P
Thierry-P
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice little route. Detour to the chapel, which is minimalist... But it only takes about 30 minutes longer.
Pleasant walk. Didn't see any dogs

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saint victor
saint victor

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with excellent signposting
Thank you for this route

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Cécile64
Cécile64

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Enjoy your walk in the hills above La Bastide, with very reliable yellow markings!

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Nofal
Nofal

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful, shaded hike...
Note that the elevation gain occurs at the start!
Very reliable description and very well marked route.

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jotourne
jotourne

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant walk

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cumengej
cumengej

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very good and recent signposting. After point 6, there are no more barriers before the Tuilerie farm. However, there are still aggressive and sneaky dogs... avoid turning your back on them! A sturdy stick seems to me to be essential equipment. What's more, these dogs roam freely. So taking the path on the left avoids the farm but not the dogs....
The walk is a bit short. To make it longer, park in the central car park in the village, climb up to the Calvary, descend towards the police station, then take a path on the right to a small diversion canal of the Arize. Follow it downstream to return to the village.
On the way back, the old village is worth a look.

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christiane autha
christiane autha

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little circular loop, climbing up to the chapel/memorial, which is a bit muddy. Watch out for the farm dogs on the way back, they attacked mine! I didn't see a way to cut across and avoid them...

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