Things to see

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• Wildlife

  • The absence of large towns, and its low population density, leave huge tracts of land in the Ariege entirely to an impressive array of flora and fauna, flourishing on and around the forest trails, valley walks, nature reserves, lakes, rivers and randonnées over the high peaks.

    You should be able to spot eagles, vultures and red and black kites soaring overhead, whilst at ground level, the Ariege is a haven for many species of butterfly, and if you’re lucky you may see the elusive Desman, an aquatic mammal unique to the Pyrenees, with a snout like an elephant’s trunk.

    A range of colours illuminate every walk all year round, but the Pyrenean flora is particularly varied and spectacular from April through to July, with orchids, gentians and the unique-to-the-Pyrenees ramonda and Pyrenean saxifrage carpeting the already breathtaking scenery.

    If your naturalistic tendencies are in their infancy, guided walks are available to interpret and educate, but it can be just as sensorially rewarding to simply bask in the beauty of the landscape, enjoyment undiminished by your ignorance of the Latin name for the flowers at your feet.

Local towns, villages, natural attractions & festivals

In no particular order, and in no way representing an exhaustive list, here are a few places to go and things to see in our immediate vicinity (nothing on the list is further than 30kms from Le Pic Vert):

• Towns & villages

  • St Lizier 

  • One of the 149 ‘Plus Beaux Villages de France’
  • Medieval hilltop walled village
  • Pilgrimage site since the 6^th Century
  • Art festival in May

• Aulus-les-Bains

• “One of the most stunning locations in the Pyrenees”, according to the Rough Guide to the Pyrenees
• Once famous for its bear trainers, now a centre for activity holidays

Natural attractions

• Vallée de Bethmale 

• Beautiful and peaceful valley (even by Couserans standards)
• Home of the traditional costume of the Couserans, examples of which occasionally get an airing on festival days

• Etang d’Ayes 

• Popular and accessible picnic spot just above the tree line
• Indescribably beautiful views out to the high peaks

• Cirque de Cagateille 

• The largest cirque in the Pyrenees after Gavarnie and Troumouse, but with none of the crowding

Festivals & events

• Refuge des Estagnous - Reserve du Mont Valier 

• Every Friday evening in July and August, festivals of music, song, dance and storytelling at the walkers’ refuge on the Mont Valier reserve
• Participants climb up to the refuge on foot
• Price of ticket includes overnight accommodation at the refuge

• Le Chemin de la Liberté 

• A Bastille Day (July 14^th) walk across the border into Spain, following the route taken by downed Allied pilots and refugees fleeing the Nazis in World War II.
• Two departure points: St Girons and Seix

• Memorial Fabio Casartelli 

• Cycling event in St Girons on 23^rd July in memory of the cyclist who died while riding the Tour de France in 1995, during a stage between St Girons and Cauterets.
• Profits are donated to the Fabio Casartelli foundation

• The Tour de France 

• Largest single sporting event, in terms of number of spectators, in the world
• Invariably passes through the Ariege, frequently crossing the local cols (passes within 5 kms of Le Pic Vert in 2007)

• St Girons Festival

• First week of August
• Musicians, singers and dancers from numerous countries perform in the streets

• Couflens - Port de Salau 

• Meeting of Occitan and Catalan speakers on the French-Spanish border on the first weekend of August
• Music, dancing, picnics
• 3.5 hour walk from the French side

• The Transhumance 

• In June, over 4000 cows, sheep and horses are guided back up the roads of the Couserans to the high mountains for the summer
• Enjoy the spectacle in Massat, Seix and Sentein, all neighbouring villages to Boussan, Le Pic Vert’s base

• Feu de la St Jean 

• Summer solstice festivals in the last week of June in villages across the Couserans, featuring music, dancing, outdoor evening meal and the setting ablaze of a tall stack of branches placed around a pole!

Further afield

Slightly further afield, and again in no particular order, you could visit the following, all within two hours easy drive of Le Pic Vert and therefore viable as day trips:

• Foix 

• Capital of the Ariege (smallest departmental capital in France)
• 16^th/17^th Century half timbered buildings

• Tarascon 

• Grotte de Niaux features cave paintings from 11,000 BC
• Parc Pyreneen de l’Art Prehistorique offers multimedia interpretations of the meanings and techniques of the paintings and prehistoric life in general

• Montségur 

• 13^th Century Cathar stronghold
• Scene of the burning of the Cathar martyrs by the combined forces of the King of France and the Catholic church

• Mirepoix 

• 13^th Century bastide town
• Fine medieval architecture and beautiful market square

• Luchon 

• The main French Pyrenean ski centre, at Superbagneres, above Luchon
• Elegant spa town

• Andorra 

• Tax-free shopping
• Multiple ski resorts

• St-Bertrand-de-Comminges 

• One of the ‘Plus Beaux Villages de France’
• Important pilgrimage site

• Toulouse

• The ‘Ville Rose’ (Pink City), Capital of the Midi-Pyrenees region, and of the Occitan culture
• Fourth largest city in France, and one of the fastest growing in Europe
• Home of the European aerospace industry
• Hotbed of rugby union
• Elegant and chic shopping boulevards

• Gavarnie 

• UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Magnificent natural amphitheatre, a sheer wall of rock 1400m high and 890m wide, simply unmissable

• Col du Tourmalet / Pic du Midi de Bigorre 

• Alleged to be the highest driveable pass in the French Pyrenees (2115m)
• Legendary climb of the Tour de France
• Unsurpassed views form the observatory at the top of the Pic du Midi (2877m)

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