Photo : Ericoides / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Cirque d'Estaubé
The Estaubé cirque closes, on the Franco-Spanish border, one of the least visited valleys of the Gavarnie area, in the Hautes-Pyrénées. Its ridge line, which peaks at over 2,700 metres, is part of the vast mountain amphitheatre that also includes the neighbouring cirques of Gavarnie and Troumouse, better known to the general public.
This horseshoe-shaped relief, typical of the glacial erosion that shaped the whole massif, is part of the property inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage under the name Pyrénées – Mont Perdu, recognised both for the quality of its landscapes and for the ancestral pastoral practices that still continue there.
Less accessible than its more renowned neighbours, the Estaubé cirque is earned by a hike of several hours from the Aspé valley or the Bellevue plateau, which preserves its tranquillity. Summer, from July to September, remains the best period to venture there, the site remaining snow-covered for much of the year.
