SOn the wide entrance road to the Gavarnie cirque, things get tougher under the hot seasonal sun. On the climb bordering the very young Gave de Pau, the whistling of a marmot has less chance of drowning out the roar of the flood than the whining of increasingly less airy children.
The ride is easy, even disturbingly easyFor experienced hikers: 230 meters positive height difference from the village of Gavarnie to the threshold of the cirque of the same name, a two and a half hour round trip, covering a wide landscape, unhurried route. But for a partially inexperienced, very young or, on the contrary, an older audience, this moment is somewhat difficult. The majesty of Gavarnie and its 417-meter waterfall are worth it.
About a million visitors
Not everyone is ready for it. Normal, considering…
SOn the broad entrance road to the Gavarnie cirque, things get tougher under the hot seasonal sun. On the climb bordering the very young Gave de Pau, the whistling of a marmot has less chance of drowning out the roar of the flood than the whining of increasingly less airy children.
The ride is easy, even disturbingly easy, for experienced hikers: a positive height difference of about 230 meters from the village of Gavarnie to the threshold of the cirque of the same name, a round trip time of two and a half hours covering a wide landscape, a leisurely route. But for a partially inexperienced, very young or, on the contrary, an older audience, this moment is somewhat difficult. The majesty of Gavarnie and its 417-meter waterfall are worth it.
About a million visitors
Not everyone is ready for it. Normal, given the crowd. “The whole area of Gavarnie – not just the cirque – represents between 900,000 and one million visitors a year, 70% of them in summer,” smiles Lionel Mata, who manages flows at the tourism agency of the Gavarnie valleys. If some sites in the Pyrenees have seen their fortunes explode in the post-Covid years, this is not really the case at this high place in the massif labeled Grand Site d’Occitanie.
Cradle of the Pyrenees, a mountain stop raised by Victor Hugo, the town of Gavarnie-Gèdre has long had an unfashionable reputation. Like Mont Saint-Michel or the medieval city of Carcassonne, you should do Gavarnie. For the Spanish, Gavarnie is a bit like their Chamonix,” adds Lionel Mata. The comparison is not deceptive. Its 1,700-meter-high walls and panoramic views of 3,000-meter peaks encourage renewal of preferences.
Combine mountain codes
If the tourist profession of the places is old, on the other hand, Gavarnie is rubbing shoulders with a new client who “does not necessarily combine the codes of the mountains”, ventures Raïssa Djedje, head of the communication center of the tourism agency. The same observation can certainly be made in the neighboring valleys of Aspe and Ossau – Excursion to the Ayous Lakes, For example. Not having codes covers a range of behaviors related to safety and good manners.
For example, in the center of the Gavarnie cirque, you can run down the hole that runs under the waterfall. Go out to the snowfield where the flood flows with the kids. Start the walk from the village with no sun protection or water. Leave it in casual sneakers as if you were strolling along the coastal path of Île de Ré. Don’t underestimate the rapid changes in the weather in the mountains. Shout like on the beach.
The list is long and not exhaustive. Abusing one’s strengths, conspicuously there, we’ll come back to. Red crabs on the last steep road to the big waterfall, after a save stop near the Cirque hotel, France and Johan are not far from describing the section. Young retirees from the Tours region stay with friends in Argelès-Gazost. They are planning a detour to the Pic du Midi Observatory during the week. They discover that the mountain has risen in Gavarni. “Everyone says it’s easy, but it’s not that easy,” breathes Johan, whose weight/power ratio isn’t so favorable – let’s say the climb to the waterfall at the foot of the wall is not classified as Easy, only the first part. it’s a march.
In the center of the national park
Managing the influx of bipeds is complicated by regulations that are more restrictive than the bottom of a building in the middle of the street. The circus itself In the heart of the Pyrenees national park, a protected area where picking flowers is prohibited, as is bringing your dog or bivouac. And after some time, pour the waste there. In this latter subject the education of the public, especially of its children, is well developed, and problems are rare.
On the other hand, after the Cirque hotel, the “stop” booked for pets is sometimes not well received. According to Raïssa Djedje, there is a way to solve the problem. “Earlier we said that it is forbidden to have dogs there. Now we focus on the spaces they are allowed and explain the restrictions. We even have service providers in Luz Valley who can look after the dog while the owners are out for a walk,” he explains.
Parking is paid
In this Pyrenean gorge, it is also a menacing traffic jam. Local authorities have made strong choices to prevent this. About thirty years ago, Gavarnie introduced paid parking. It costs 8 euros for twenty-four hours. In the height of the season, it is to the motorist’s advantage to arrive early. We can store 800 cars in the car parks, plus 200 cars in the motor homes. “With curbs, we can accommodate a maximum of 1,200 cars,” the
Home policy is clearly about promoting soft travel. When entering the village, the visitor is directed to the car parks without the possibility to enter the center of the village, unless there is a valid reason. The main shopping street has just been rebuilt, with sidewalks removed to effectively share the road. The profile of the stops has been changed. The municipality applied for an expression of interest in mountain mobility. In order to better manage the arrivals and departures of motorhomes. “There are four to five hundred every evening in the high season, what do we do with them?” ”, asks Lionel Mata.
Whatever the odds, we here refute the infamous term “overtourism”. True, even in the middle of summer, traffic jams do not have the flavor of returning from Porge Beach. In the evening, Gèdre is more different than Biscarrosse-Plage, or even Ibiza. If you’re really allergic to humanity, direct your steps towards the circus of Troumouse, near She is (almost) beautiful.