Sightseeing along the way
The village of Artigue
Artigue is typical of the hill villages around Luchon, perched on the mountainside at 1,230 metres altitude. Its name comes from the Gascon artiga, meaning ‘land cleared for cultivation’. You begin your walk in an area of meadows grown for pasture and mowing (to make hay to feed livestock through the winter months while they are kept protected from the elements in cowsheds). The stone houses, with slate or thatch roofs, were all originally built for farming. Some are still used as barns, but most have been tastefully modernised and restored as holiday homes and gîtes.
From more than 200 permanent inhabitants in the mid-19th century, the village population has shrunk to less than 40 today. However, in recent years it has seen something of a new lease of life.
In the centre of the village stands the pretty little Church of Saint Pierre, with its traditional bell-gable.
The GR10®: long-distance footpath through the Pyrenees from Hendaye to Banyuls
From the village of Artigue you follow the GR10®, the legendary long-distance footpath running from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean along the entire length of the Pyrenees, on the French side. It is mirrored on the Spanish side by its twin, the GR11® and, for more energetic types, by the HRP (Haute Randonnée Pyrénéenne trail) that runs at high altitude along the border. You follow the GR10® for a few kilometres, returning in the opposite direction.
The panorama from the summer pastures
On leaving the village you start the short, gradual, twisting climb that gains altitude rapidly and treats you to a view of the stunning countryside from a natural balcony overlooking the valley:
• Below is the Luchon Valley, with the town in the background. It is easy to spot the main monuments: the thermal baths, casino, grand hotels, fine town houses, the church, the railway station and more, plus the casino grounds and Parc des Quinconces with its hundred-year-old trees, and the broad, green walkway of the Allées d’Étigny. From the town centre rises the gondola lift that connects Luchon to the mountain resort of Superbagnères.
• On the Superbagnères plateau, at the foot of Pic de Céciré (2,403 metres), you can make out the ski resort surrounding the monumental Grand Hôtel. Its construction was completed in 1922 by the Société des Chemins de Fer et Hôtels de Montagne des Pyrénées. Today it is a holiday village.
• Northwest of Luchon you will see a line of rounded crests. This leads from the Col de Peyresourde, a famous climb on the Tour de France, to the Nistos plateau, one of the best places for nordic skiing in the département of Hautes Pyrénées, via Mont Né (easy to pick out as it rises to 2,147 metres).
• To the south-southwest is an amphitheatre of high peaks, the ‘3,000ers of the Luchonnais’, 14 mountains over 3,000 metres (nearly 10,000 ft) high in an arc stretching from west to east, the best known being Pic de Clarabide, Pic de Perdiguère (3,222 metres), Pic de Quayrat, Pic de Crabioules, Pic de Maupas and Pic de Boum. Beyond these peaks, rising even higher, is the Maladeta Massif with its immaculate glacier and Pic d’Aneto. This summit, on the Spanish side, is the highest in the Pyrenees (3,404 metres).
The summer pastures and the pastoral way of life
The extensive mountain meadows that you cross, particularly floral and fragrant in spring, were reclaimed from the forest over the centuries. A requisite for the pastoral way of life, in summer they are maintained by the herds of cattle, sheep and horses that you will come across on this walk. Without them, the forest would soon take over once again. Abandoned pastures are quickly invaded by heather, broom and brambles, after which the rest of the vegetation recovers completely. Indeed, the surface area covered by forest in France has doubled since the 19th century, when the rural exodus took place. These summer pastures are patrolled in the air by large birds of prey, nature’s mountain ‘refuse collectors’ who eat the carcasses of dead animals and clean up the meadows. They are therefore very useful to shepherds, helping to balance the mountain ecosystem. On this walk you stand a good chance of spotting the clearly recognisable shapes of the Eurasian griffon and red kite.
The cluster of buildings at the Cabanes de Saunères, and further on the Cabanes du Plan de Bosc, are evidence of this pastoral way of life and are still used today by shepherds... and walkers.
Cigalère State Forest (Forêt d’Artigue)
Entering the wooded side valley of the Cigalère State Forest, your surroundings change completely. Hemmed in by the valley and north-facing, this damp forest feels very different to the summer pastures you have just left. Rich in plant biodiversity (foxgloves and wild pansies line the path in this forest of beech and fir with occasional pine, spruce, larch, mountain ash and holly trees), this forest has barely been exploited by man. It’s a haven for the capercaillie and brown bear! These woods are full of wild berries. Depending on the season, your walk will be punctuated by opportunities to stop and graze on wild strawberries, bilberries and raspberries.
On leaving the forest you return along the path you took on the way out, soon arriving at the departure point of this delightfully varied panoramic walk.
Practical information
Start and end point The edge of the village of Artigue
Length 9 km
Duration 3 hrs 30
Total ascent 410 metres (from 1,250 to 1,660 metres altitude)
Waymarking PR®5 (yellow flashes) and GR®10 (red-and-white flashes)
Level Intermediate
Best time of year All year round (on snowshoes in winter)
Getting there : Artigue is 10 km from Luchon, making it 151 km from Toulouse via the A64 from Toulouse to Montréjeau then the N125 to Cierp-Gaud, the D125 from Cierp-Gaud to Luchon and the D46 from Luchon to Artigue.
Car park on the edge of the village
Information
Luchon Tourist Office
Tel.: +33 (0)5 61 79 21 21 - http://www.luchon.com
A straightforward mountain walk accessible to everyone, above Luchon in bear country and the home of the capercaillie.
Luchon, ‘Queen of the Pyrenees’, famous since the Gallo-Roman era for its beneficial thermal waters, enjoyed its heyday in the 19th century when the great and the good came to stay here. The architecture of its Belle Époque houses dating from that time is remarkable. Huddling in the bottom of a broad glacial valley, surrounded by impressive, permanently snow-capped peaks (the ‘3,000ers of the Luchonnais’), this charming and peaceful little town is the point of reference for this walk since as you gain height you gradually take in its full extent.
Luchon, a spa resort of renown
Nothing remains of Luchon from ancient Gallo-Roman times, and the town today owes all its charm to Baron d’Étigny, the man responsible for the revival of the thermal spa industry here in 1759.
In the 19th century, during the Romantic era, many people came to take the waters in Luchon, with Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Victor Hugo, Alphonse de Lamartine, Alexandre Dumas, Edmond Rostand and Gustave Flaubert being among the most celebrated.
The thermal baths as you see them today date from 1848, while the Casino and most of the luxury hotels were built at the end of the 19th century.
The entire town was designed around the spas. The two long Allées d’Étigny which lead to the centre form the backbone of the town as a whole and are a very popular place for a stroll, today just as they were in the past.
Luchon is France’s fourth thermal spa resort. The suphurous-sodic water, at temperatures of between 65 and 73 °C, is used to treat diseases of the respiratory tract and joint problems.
Its vaporarium (a natural steam bath dug into the mountainside) is unique in Europe. You can come here to unwind after your walk; it is part of the Luchon Forme et Bien-Etre recreational spa.
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