Sightseeing along the way
The Col du Tourmalet : before you park to set off on the walk, carry on to the Col du Tourmalet just up the road (1 km). At 2,114 metres, this is the highest road pass in the Pyrenees, a prestigious and regular stage of the Tour France, which has come this way every year since 1910. It is also the highly prized goal of the hundreds of cyclists who take on the challenge of climbing its dizzy heights every summer.
Open from June to November, the Col du Tourmalet connects the Campan / Bagnères de Bigorre valley with the Barèges / Luz-Saint Sauveur valley.
Le Géant du Tourmalet : standing at the top of the Col du Tourmalet, this monumental sculpture is the work of Jean-Bernard Métais. It is of the racing cyclist Oscar Lapize, the first man to reach the top of the col in 1910. Although… in 1675, Madame de Maintenon was the first woman to cross the Tourmalet, in a sedan chair on her way to the spa town of Barèges.
The Géant du Tourmalet spends the winter under cover in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, to be restored to its rightful place on the Tourmalet for the summer following a triumphant climb attended by thousands of amateur cyclists during a sociable and festive occasion that takes place on the first weekend in June.
The GR®10 : much of your walk follows a section of the GR®10. This legendary long-distance footpath crosses the Pyrenees from east to west for 850 km, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
Sheep and llamas : along the way you'll no doubt come across sheep roaming the mountainside. They are of the local Tarasconnaise breed, reputed for their meat. Indeed, the pastures situated between the Tourmalet and Pic du Midi are an important part of the summer grazing tradition in the Pyrenees.
Shepherds have pasture rights on the land belonging to the commune where they live, referring to them proudly as 'their mountains'. Llamas from a farm in the Campan Valley are also to be found grazing the slopes of the Pic, thereby helping to maintain the land.
The Néouvielle Massif : turn around from time to time to admire the magnificent massif stretching away to the south. It is dominated by the Pic du Néouvielle (3,092 m). This summit popular with climbers lords over the Néouvielle Nature Reserve (2,000 hectares), an outstanding paradise of biodiversity accessible by car via Saint Lary then Orédon.
The Lac d’Oncet : at 2,254 metres, this natural circular lake (6.7 hectares and 16 m deep) is either steel grey or sapphire blue, depending on the weather. It is home to Fario trout, freshwater char and minnows.
The Hostellerie du Laquet : Lac d’Oncet marks the end of your walk, but you can continue a little further up to the Col de Sencours. Here you'll come to the ruins of the first meteorological observatory, built in 1852 by General de Nansouty, and further on the Hostellerie du Laquet. Now abandoned, it was once served by the old Pic du Midi toll road, now a dirt track still accessible by car in summer.
The Pic du Midi : this walk offers some stunning views of the Pic du Midi (2,877 m). Famous for its beautiful panorama of the Pyrenees, it is also well known for its astronomical observatory, built in 1870 by General de Nansouty and the engineer Célestin-Xavier Vaussenat.
The Pic du Midi is attached to the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, and today specialises in studying the sun. The summit is accessible all year round by cable car from the ski resort of Le Grand Tourmalet – La Mongie.
Practical info
The Pic du Midi and Lac d’Oncet
Start and end point
From Barèges, follow signs for Col du Tourmalet: car park on the hairpin bend on the D 918 (La Toue bend).
Duration
2 hrs 30.
Total height difference
310 m (1,944 m to 2,254 m).
Waymarking
Yellow (PR®), red/white (GR®10)
Level
Easy.
Best time to go
Early June to mid-October.
Additional information
The route is at high altitude. Check the weather forecast before you go, and also take a look at the Pic du Midi webcams.
Getting there
Barèges is 44 km southeast of Lourdes on the D821 and D921.
Information
Barèges Tourist Office – 2, place Urbain Cazaux – Barèges – Tel. +33 (0)5 62 92 16 00.
An easy and accessible way to explore the mountains at high altitude: this sums up this walk which leads you gently up to the Lac d'Oncet at an altitude of 2,254 m, at the foot of the Pic du Midi.
An easy and accessible way to explore the mountains at high altitude: this sums up this walk which leads you gently up to the Lac d'Oncet at an altitude of 2,254 m, at the foot of the Pic du Midi.
On the road up to the Col du Tourmalet from Barèges there's a car park on the hairpin bend (the La Toue bend) where there is a sign for the start of the walk to the Lac d’Oncet. From there you set off on a there-and-back walk at high altitude along a pleasant and well waymarked footpath.
It's quite a climb (height gain of 310 m) but a gradual one that's not too taxing, leaving you to enjoy the beautiful scenery to the full. If the weather is clear you'll get stunning views of the picturesque scenery, taking in the unforgettable panoramas and collecting some indelible memories.
The wild, rugged jumble of the Pyrenees on the horizon, the magnificent Néouvielle Massif in the distance and the steep bare crags all around you, clad in green velvet and matt rock: these are your surroundings on this walk. Along the way you'll see sheep and perhaps even llamas roaming the summer pastures.
Pic du Midi, the magic mountain
Standing out like a beacon towering into the sky, the Pic du Midi is your compass. Its almost perfect pyramid shape, its altitude (2,877 m) and its grandeur make one think of those mountains that in times long gone were believed to be the home of the gods.
In the late 19th century it was instead an astronomical observatory that man built there. Important scientific work has been accomplished there, including the very first project to map the moon for NASA, well before it opened to the public in 2000.
Surrounded by panoramic viewing terraces, the observatory takes up almost the entire summit. You will perhaps see its domes and antennas reflected in the sapphire waters of the Lac d’Oncet which lies at the end of the climb, while the cable car glides silently through the azure skies above you.
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Route guides
The route description (in French), written by the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre, can be downloaded from www.randonnees-midi-pyrenees.com
The following 'topoguide' walking guide is also useful for reference : Les vallées du Pays Toy à pied - Editions FFRandonnée / Ref ST05.
This topoguide is available from good bookshops or via the website of the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre: www.ffrandonnee.fr
http://crtmp1.cnstlltn.com/master/88a53b0a-4255-48dd-9653-46489b9bb337/pic-du-midi.kml
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