The Tour of Soule
Trekking and Rambling
- Code : 567.2012
- Duration : 7 Days / 6 Nights
- Dates : from May to September
- Luggage transport : Yes
The Soule, in the heart of the Basque Country, shepherds land where rural activity is paced by the seasons. This hike through the Pyrenean high Piémont (between 990 ft and 3.280 ft) presents some splendid panoramas and a green nature where man and nature can live in harmony.
Formula - Discipline
On your own - On foot
Program
D 1 : Rendezvous in Mauléon. Visit of the town’s old quarters.
D 2 : Mauléon - Barcus ( 5 ½ hour walk)
Starting at the castle’s drawbridge you wander of into the countryside of wooded vales towards Barcus. On the way, your gaze will be successively be stopped by barriers on the horizon: the protohistorical site of “Gaztelaya”, the summits of Chéraute and Barcus and the “cambiliou d’Esquiule”.
D 3 : Barcus - Tardets ( 5 hour walk)
You roam the side roads, in the heart of the rural landscape. You will pass by farmhouses, barns, meadows…to reach the summit of La Madeleine. Stop here for a moment…you will see the mythical peak of Midi d’Ossau emerging from the hundreds of Pyrenean peaks.
D 4 : Tardets - Tardets ( 5 hour walk)
From Tardet, 13th century fortified village, you will start of on a circle passing over the summits of Erretzu and Bégousse…back down to the valley of Saison and to Tardets.
D 5 : Tardets - Aussurucq (6 hour walk)
You walk in the trees above the ravine of Zunzurekoxiloa to reach the mythological world of the Arbailles. On your right, Vulture’s Peak (Pic des Vautours) dominates a vale full of caves and abysses, the potholer’s playground.
D 6 : Pic d’Etchecortia - (6 hour walk)
You will take the transhumance road through the beech woods to reach the cayolar (shepherd’s hut) of Etchecortia…
D 7 : Aussurucq - Mauléon (6 hour walk)
Back to the Saison valley through the glades and the hazelnut trees. A magnificent view will reveal itself to you, the Belchou peak in the west, the Anie peak in the south-east and Mauléon in the north-west. An unrestricted view…
Difficulty
no technical difficulty
Welcome
in Mauléon during D 1.
Dispersal
D7 after the walk.
Accommodation
hôtel**/***
Access
by car, by train
Prices
p.p in double room:
May, June, September : as from € 365
single supplement: € 115
July and August : € 395
single supplement: € 130
rebate for children from 10 to 12 on request.
The price includes:
half board accommodation, luggage transfers, detailed road book and IGN map with the itinerary indicated, documentation.
The price does not include:
picnics, drinks and personal expenses.
