From the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees line up glacial cirques, high-altitude lakes, waterfalls and legendary peaks. The Cirque de Gavarnie, the Pic du Midi de Bigorre and the Canigou are their symbols.
This selection crosses the range from west to east: gorges of the Basque Country, Béarn valleys, the Hautes-Pyrénées and the national park, the prehistoric caves of the Ariège, all the way to the Catalan landscapes of the Pyrénées-Orientales. Most sites are explored on foot.
A spectacular 2 km canyon in Haute-Soule, with walls reaching 350 metres high, discovered in 1906 by the speleologist Édouard-Alfred Martel.
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A superb walk that will take you from lake to lake and offer you a unique panorama of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau.
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This exceptional mountain landscape, which spreads on both sides of the present national borders of France and Spain, is centred on the Mont Perdu peak, a limestone massif that peaks at 3,352 metres.
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Upstream of the Héas gave valley, the Troumouse cirque is the largest glacial cirque in the Pyrenees.
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At 1,500 metres' altitude, this Pyrenean natural site brings together waterfalls and torrents at the confluence of several glacial valleys. Gateway to the Pyrenees National Park, it is the classic starting point for Lac de Gaube.
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Nestled at the foot of the Vignemale, this Pyrenean glacial lake is reached from Cauterets by a hiking path or a chairlift. Its clear waters, framed by steep walls, make it one of the most visited mountain lakes in the French Pyrenees.
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Here is the kingdom of granite and water; its impressive waterfalls and its many lakes make it a natural paradise where Empress Eugénie came to dream in the last century.
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The highest road pass in the French Pyrenees at 2,115 metres, the Tourmalet is the legendary arbiter of the Tour de France, immortalised by the statue of the cycling giant Octave Lapize.
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The Pic du Midi de Bigorre is in the Hautes-Pyrénées, and reaches an altitude of 2,877 metres.
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A granite massif of the Hautes-Pyrénées peaking at 3,192 m, famous for its many high-altitude lakes such as Aumar, Aubert and Cap de Long.
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The Niaux cave, universally known, rivals Lascaux for the high quality and excellent conservation of its cave paintings; for nearly 13,000 years the cave has consisted of several moderately concreted galleries with splendid colours.
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Before setting off to assault the "Pog", the path passes close to the stele erected in 1960 "to the martyrs of pure Christian love".
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Lac des Bouillouses and the Pic del Pam (2,470 m). After leaving the tarmac of the car park, the path climbs into the firs and, after a few minutes, gives glimpses of unusual views of the Bouillouses.
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At 2,785 metres, the emblematic summit of the Catalans, the easternmost high point of the Pyrenees, visible from the Mediterranean in clear weather.
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"Les Orgues" are strange rock formations eroded by time and shaped like chimneys.
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