A real balancing act — adventuring in France’s Gavarnie cirques

This adventure of the Gavarnie cirques takes you to the heart of France’s Pyrenees National Park. Between ridges, narrow passages and steep ladders, this hike sometimes requires some tightrope walking skills but remains, on the whole, accessible.

The route draws a line between three great, legendary cirques of the Pyrenees and you’ll see all their facets. The idea of this itinerary is to guide you both into the heart of the cirques at the bottom of the valley but also in the heights. You can experience the high mountains and rub shoulders with many 3,000 metre peaks, but also enjoy pure Pyrenean hiking: wild valleys, waterfalls, rustic huts, herds in summer pasture, and sparkling lakes.

You go from pretty meadows to spartan screes and from undergrowth to exposed plateaus. Above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), you see the hooked pines and mountain flowers become rarer before disappearing in favour of the last snows and rocky patches.

The stages in this Collection each lead you to a comfortable hut for the night. You can set up tents at these same stops too; this is the advantage of carrying a tent, especially as the Pyrenees National Park allows camping during the night time hours.

During these five days of walking, you remain up in the mountains without going back down through the villages. As a result, you need to carry all of your meals for five days. To lighten your load, you can reserve dinners and breakfasts in the huts. As far as hydration is concerned, there’s no trouble getting water. The huts and rivers are there for you. You may want to consider taking some purifying tablets if you fill up in watercourses.

Spring is the best time for this hike while it’s best not tackled after mid-September, unless you’re experienced in alpine mountaineering. Outside the high season, this adventure can be intimidating, even inaccessible. If unsure, the best thing to do is to ask at the tourist office.

This loop begins and ends in Gavarnie. Line 965 of the liO buses will take you there in all seasons. You can find the timetable by season on this site: mestrajets.lio.laregion.fr

Have a good hike!

PS: If you liked this Collection, consider discovering this other one: komoot.fr/collection/1883722/trek-de-gavarnie-a-ordesa-une-boucle-suspendue-dans-les-cirques