14th July 2025 La vallée d’Ossoue sits below the Col des Tentes and runs west from Gavarnie; it is a long valley of two halves with flower rich grasslands full of pinks and field gentians beneath a huge cliff, that after a tortuous section of road runs into a wide valley with track that runs…
Tag: Hautes-Pyrénées
Col des Tentes, Hautes-Pyrénées
13th July 2025 Below the col, the subalpine grasslands are short-grazed and full of wheatears that nest in gullies and low cliffs. Pairs have recently fledged young so the adults frantically try to divert us with rasping calls and bold distraction displays. There is also a range of ringlet Erebia butterfly species including a dazzling…
Col du Tourmalet
July 12th 2025 This is the highest pass in the Pyrenees at 2,115m and the one revered by cyclists both for its challenging ascent as well as its consistent inclusion in the Tour de France. The wonderful sculpture at the summit is the Giant of Tourmalet (Le Géant du Tourmalet), or simply Octave in memory of Octave…
Cirque de Gavarnie
Tourism has transformed the pretty, mountain village of Gavarnie; its huge car park is filled by mid-morning. Most visitors run the gauntlet of shops and cafes and then hike up the valley to the immense cirque with its 400m high waterfall; this entails walking the track up through the pine forest and pastures to the…