ブルガレイ周辺のアトラクション＆必見スポット - トップ20

Impressive rock landmark

This is essentially a 14km clockwise loop. The ascent to the peaks is pretty well marked out although I’d always suggest downloading an offline route map. It’s not particularly technical just some simple clambering over a few steep rocky sections before the 1st col (Teyech). I wouldn’t fancy that rocky section if it’s frozen mind you. After the 2 stunning peaks the rest of the loop is a few kms along the ridge before turning down back through the forest. If it’s snowy, you’ll very easily lose the path (i did a lot) so another good reason to download the route.

This circuit starting from the beautiful little village of Artigue, will take you directly to the Saunères cabin. All along the route, you will walk with a breathtaking view of the balconies of Luchonnais. You will also overlook the city of Luchon and it is not uncommon to share this beautiful circuit with mountain bike enthusiasts.

When you start the Col de Menté through Sant Beat, right on the first ramp, you come across this work of art, which can be admired from the road.

A very pretty, very pleasant town, with all kinds of shops and restaurants, ideal for organizing a stage of several days to discover this part of the French Pyrenees.

And it was already a stage destination on the tour

There’s something about climbing marble

This rock wall is in fact the vestige of a spectacular old quarry which was for a long time one of the main activities of Saint Béat, the city of marble. It still bears traces of exploitation, the oldest of which date back to Antiquity, a time during which Saint-Béat was known as a "Passus Lupi" (passage of the wolf), because the narrowing of this part of the Val d'Aran n It would then have allowed only skinny wolves to pass without getting their paws wet in the Garonne. This ancient stronghold commanded the Garonne valley and its strategic importance had made it nicknamed the “key to France”. For centuries, Saint-Béat remained best known for its white marble quarries, undoubtedly discovered while seeking to widen the narrow passage and exploited since Gallo-Roman times. Local legend did not hesitate to say that its marble was used to build Trajan's Column in Rome. This is naturally false. Widely used during the reign of Louis XIV and particularly at Versailles, the quarries were then neglected or abandoned, only to be rediscovered in the 19th century. Today, nine marble quarries of various colors are still being exploited in Saint-Béat, including one underground. But the operation of this concession located on the side of the road was abandoned and the place was rehabilitated as a climbing site.