Catering during your stay

Breakfast and dinner are served at the hotel. The cuisine offers family-style dishes based on local produce. You’ll have a picnic lunch with fresh local produce prepared by a local caterer, except on day 2 when you’ll eat a picnic prepared by the children at the market. On the evening of the bivouac, you will dine around the fire.

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Vignemale, Cauterets
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François Laurens

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Lac Des Huats Cauterets Pont d'Espagne
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Pierre Meyer

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Hiking with children in the Pyrenees, around Vignemale
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HPTE - François Laurens

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Facing the Vignemale, the highest peak in the French Pyrenees

Altitude summits and refuges

My first 3000

In the Pyrenees

This is a superb expedition, with a gradual approach walk and three base camps in high-altitude refuges, to reach the Petit Vignemale, at an altitude of 3,032 metres, and its extraordinary panorama of the Ossoue glacier and the Gavarnie peaks. The walk begins in a bucolic landscape of meadows, streams and waterfalls. As the path climbs higher, you leave the green meadows behind and enter a more mineral landscape punctuated by a few snowdrifts.

The highest and oldest guarded refuge in the Pyrenees will be our last base camp before the final stage. At the summit, you’ll be proud to have climbed a 3000-metre peak, and the view will take your breath away!

From

520 €

per person

4 days

3 nights

I would like to book my stay

The price includes

3 nights’ accommodation in a mountain refuge on a full-board basis
4 days’ hiking with a mountain leader Star trekking – Easy level

What you’ll enjoy

Discovering a wide variety of landscapes: waterfalls, forests, a dozen lakes, high altitude landscapes, etc.
A gradual climb to over 3000 metres at the summit of Petit Vignemale
A loop in the heart of the Pyrenees National Park.

programme

On the programme for your stay

4 days / 3 nights

Day 1

From Cauterets to the Pont d’Espagne

A gentle start steeped in history as we leave Cauterets, passing through the Raillères spa district to reach the Pont d’Espagne via the waterfalls path, aptly named…

600mD+ / 0mD-

Day 2

From Pont d’Espagne to the Wallon refuge

From lake to lake we reach the realm of the high mountains before reaching the Wallon refuge, nestled in a little corner of paradise.

900mD+ / 600mD-

Day 3

From the Wallon refuge to the Bayssellance refuge

It’s a long but magnificent day as we climb up the Arratille valley and its magnificent lakes, with a short foray into Spain giving us a close-up view of the west face of the Vignemale before descending to the foot of its famous north face. After a break in front of the Oulettes de Gaube glacier, we’ll climb to the Bayssellance hut to finish the day.

1300mD+ / 600mD-

Day 4

Ascent of Petit Vignemale and return to Pont d’Espagne

Climb to the highest point of the tour, the summit of Petit Vignemale at 3035m, to enjoy a panorama that stretches from the Pic du Midi d’Ossau to the summits of Gavarnie and Mont Perdu, before descending to the Pont d’Espagne via the Gaube valley.

400 mD+/ 1600mD-

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On the way to the Oulettes de Gaube refuge, facing the Vignemale

expert

Our expert

Stay

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Julie, creator of holidays and breaks in the Hautes-Pyrénées

As an adventurer and lover of the great outdoors, I specialise in holidays that are full of emotion! Don’t hesitate to contact me to adapt this holiday. See you soon in the Hautes-Pyrénées.

Julie Richard

I personalise this holiday

budget

Budget

The estimated budget for this stay is €520 per person.

Included in this suggestion :

4 days/3 nights in a mountain refuge on a full-board basis
4 days hiking with a mountain leader Star trekking – Easy level

Additional information

The team may have to modify the programme for various reasons (weather, group level, logistical problems, etc.). Your safety will always be our priority.
Meeting point : Day 1, meet in Cauterets at 10am.
End of the tour : Return around 5pm on day 4.
Level: Fairly steady pace.
Supervision : A qualified mountain leader specialising in the region.

will love

Our commitments

Just give us a call and we’ll organise everything for you: a cosy residence at a good price, a good address for dinner, a snowshoe walk with a guide, a hot bath in the open air, a dog-sledding trip… And we’ll share our tips with you to make sure your holiday is like no other.

Tailor-made holidays and weekends

We listen to you and advise you so that we can work with you to create an ultra-personalised holiday plan.

All-inclusive holidays

Flights, trains, shuttles, accommodation, ski passes, equipment, ski lessons, activities… We can organise it all!

Free service

We offer public prices without intermediaries. With us, you won’t pay more!