Occitania is a real paradise for hikers. The Midi-Pyrénées region offers more than 500 itineraries, for all levels, for a day or half-day. You can also combine itineraries and imagine crossings to hike for several days. If the Pyrenean summits attract high mountain lovers, many trails are accessible to families and untrained walkers. Languedoc-Roussillon is not lacking in assets either: the sea of course, the sun, but also the vineyards and a whole art of living. Zoom on four choice spots.
Collioure and its surroundings
The beautiful Collioure winks to seduce you better but it is not useful, its assets are too superb to leave you indifferent. Its small port, its small round beach, its cobbled streets, its castle, its wine tasting cellars... you must nevertheless start this pretty hike in a loop. Leave the city by the vineyard road and what a vineyard! The very ones that produce collioure and banyuls that you won't soon forget. The steep slopes on which the vines cling angrily prevent any mechanization. From pruning to harvesting, everything is done by hand!
Cross the Mollo pass and discover the Dugommier and Saint-Elme forts, once used to defend the coast. Go down to Port-Vendres which owes its name to the presence of a temple dedicated to Venus which dominated the cove. Above all, don't lose a drop of the panorama that is generously offered to the eye. The small port city offers a typically Mediterranean colourful spectacle. Walk along its old port. You will reach the cove and the beach of the Tamarins, Fort Mailly and, at the end of the pier, the fire of the Môle from where the view is once again magnificent. Visit the Bear Redoubt before reaching the lighthouse of the same name rising from its 80 m above the sea. By the cove of Paulilles, a preserved site which deserves a stop, and why not a little swim in its clear waters, and the Pere Carrera pass, you will dive on Banyuls. In this typical Catalan village, lively all year round, visit the 11th century Romanesque church of the Rectory surrounded by tombs and cypress trees, the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette. Now climb the Col des Gascons, dominated by the Madeloc tower. Before heading back down to Collioure, the road is lined with numerous military remains with still breathtaking views of the Catalan coast. To extend your stay, the tour of the Madeloc massif - starting from Collioure - is a nice option.
In the Cerdanya region
Here you are in one of the most famous regions of the Pyrenees. In the heart of the Catalan mountains, a few steps away from Spain, Cerdanya reveals, for those who know how to admire it, its preserved environment, with a privileged sunshine, its unique landscapes of altitude, especially in the Carlit massif where the mouflon and the isard like it. This itinerary will lead you through villages with traditional architecture, exceptional heritage and where the term conviviality takes on its full meaning.
The site of Les Bouillouses is breathtakingly beautiful. Even today, the great variety of landscapes reveals a very special atmosphere, with the transition between a Catalan altiplano under an often permanent sun and the high mountains of the Carlit massif overlooking the sumptuous Les Bouillouses lake - 2 000 m high up - and the surrounding glacial lakes. This setting, both grandiose and wild, is strangely reminiscent of the vast expanses of the Nordic countries. Cerdanya and Capcir have acquired an international reputation in the field of cross-country skiing In this excessiveness, nature has every right. From spring to autumn, the variations in colour between the bright mountain flowers and the coniferous trees mixed with the deciduous trees bring a magical note to this region. It is the ideal place to go to meet the marmot and the isard and, if you are lucky, the extremely rare Pyrenean desman.
The next day you will set off on high altitude trails to discover the Carlit massif and its many lakes. Experienced hikers will set out to conquer the Carlit peak, while the less adventurous can wander from one lake to another in the summer pastures. We're having fun, the weather is good, so head for the peak at 2 900 m, the highest peak in the Catalan Pyrenees! The Carlit is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful viewpoints, thanks to its strategic location. From the summit, the panorama is endless. Numerous glacial lakes enhance the beauty of the path leading to it. For this intoxicating little escapade, count on 7 hours more.
The Cathar castles
This itinerary proposes you to discover a tragic page of history which marked the south-west of France during the Albigensian crusade. Depending on your "appetite" for knowledge and your physical condition, you can extend it at your leisure.
Between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean, in the heart of the sunny Corbières, stand imposing stone citadels: the Cathar castles. Starting point: the small village of Padern overhung by the imposing ruins of its medieval castle. Built on an impressive cliff, it still seems to watch over the Verdouble gorges. From its summit, superb views over the wild landscapes of the Corbières. Through fragrant scrubland and against a backdrop of vineyards, reach the prestigious castle-citadel of Quéribus, built on a rocky peak. A real eagle's nest, it remained the last Cathar stronghold of resistance during the crusade in 1255. Perched at 788 m, from the top terrace of the keep, grandiose landscapes are offered to the view from the Fenouillèdes to the plains of Roussillon and the Corbières. The second stage between Duilhac and Cubières does not lack charm. A picturesque route proposing the visit of the fortress of Peyrepertuse, rightly nicknamed "the citadel of vertigo", standing on a limestone ridge at about 800 m above the garrigue and the vineyards. From the San Jordi chapel you can see the nearby Quéribus castle and, further on, the Dei Far tower of Tautavel and Força Real in Roussillon. Then it is the turn of the Galamus gorges, famous for their impressive Agly canyon. A site out of the ordinary! The Agly, river of the eagles, from cascade to cascade, dug the rock where the road built in 1884 clings to halfway up the cliff. The Hermitage of Galamus also deserves a stopover. The sanctuary set up in a cave surrounded by boxwood and holm oaks gives way to an exceptional natural curiosity. You leave Cubières to reach the charming village of Sougraigne, nestled in a green setting. At the Linas pass, the view towards the Pech de Bugarach is breathtaking. The village of Bugarach, a few hundred de mètres away from the itinerary, is worth the detour, for the ruins of its castle dating from the 16th and 17th centuries and its hundred-year-old houses. Finally, the last ascent towards the Pourteille pass - 694 m -, before going back down to Sougraigne.
Great cirques of the Pyrenees
At the end of the valley of the giants and the "Toy" country stand the great lords of the Pyrenees, the three great circuses: Gavarnie, Troumouse and Estaubé. The landscapes are grandiose, vertiginous and different from one circus to another.
Who has never heard of the Cirque de Gavarnie? Not to be missed! A true geological poem! The highest! A diameter of 800 m at the base and 4 km at the top. The grey, ochre or pinkish limestone terrain has been turned over and lifted up to 3 000 m in altitude. The height of the walls of the cirque reaches close to 1 500 m, in three successive floors separated by less sloping benches. With its numerous peaks over 3 000 m such as Taillon or Marboré, home to the largest waterfall in Europe - 423 m -, this wonder of nature cannot be described, it can be contemplated and discovered. The bravest - not recommended for young children - will climb up to the Breche de Roland, an impressive natural gap 40 m wide and 100 m high opening into the cliffs overlooking the circus. Located at 2 804 m in altitude, this geological curiosity marks the border between France and Spain. To reach the cirque of Troumouse, go down to Bareilles or Gèdre. The cirque of Troumouse is no less grandiose. Extraordinary amphitheatre of 10 km in length and 1 000 m in height, it is a superb natural sanctuary. Dominated by the peak of the Munia - 3 133 m -, it is rich in endemic flowers, peat bogs and marmots. Inside the circus there are meadows crossed by rus that flow into the Lake of Aires. The herd of cows scatters. The barrier is impassable and the shepherd can be reassured that his cattle will not escape. On the other hand, he will have to watch out for thunderstorms and lightning pests. From the statue of the Virgin, the view is superb
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When? As soon as the sun comes up. Avoid the high summer, when the heat wave often makes walking difficult.
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