# Cirque de Gavarnie A rock amphitheatre with the highest waterfall in France. It is an hour on foot from the village. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/cirque-de-gavarnie · Revisado: 2026-11-12 ## What is the Cirque de Gavarnie? A glacial amphitheatre at the head of the Gave de Pau valley, at the end of the road that climbs from Lourdes: a rock wall 6.5 km around and some 1,500 m high, with peaks of over 3,000 m above and the Grande Cascade falling down the back wall, the highest in France. On the other side of that wall lies Ordesa. The two sides form the cross-border site Pyrénées – Mont Perdu, a World Heritage Site since 1997. The village of Gavarnie sits at the entrance to the cirque. From there everything is done on foot, or on horseback in summer. There is no road to the far end. ## What is the walk like? The classic path leaves the village, follows the river along a wide, flat valley and reaches the Hôtellerie du Cirque, a mountain building in the middle of the amphitheatre, with the waterfall straight ahead. Allow a good hour from the village, with little climbing: families and people of all ages do it. From the Hôtellerie, a stonier path carries on to the foot of the Grande Cascade, where the spray reaches. In summer there are horses and donkeys for the trip to the Hôtellerie. In winter the route is done on snowshoes, always checking the avalanche risk first. ## How do I plan the day? Get to the village early and park. Set off on foot before nine: by half past ten you are at the Hôtellerie and by mid-morning at the foot of the waterfall, with the light pouring into the cirque. Come back without hurrying and have lunch in the meadows or in the village. In the afternoon, if you have energy left, drive up to Lac des Gloriettes and take a short walk towards Estaubé. If you are sleeping in the valley, Troumouse is there the next day. ## What else is in the valley? Gavarnie has two more cirques, less well known and quieter: Troumouse, the biggest of the three, about 11 km around and at 2,100 m. In summer you drive up to the Maillet plateau and finish on foot or on a little tractor-drawn train. Estaubé, the smallest and quietest, above Lac des Gloriettes. The path follows the lake and the stream among marmots and, in summer, some 400 cows and 1,200 sheep. In winter you cannot get there. In Gèdre, the village just before, the Pragnères hydroelectric power station, from 1954, can be visited with a guide and with virtual reality: it has 40 km of galleries, four dams and thirty water intakes. For mountaineers, the Brèche de Roland is the gap that opens in the top of the cirque wall, on the border with Ordesa. It is a full-day high-mountain route: don't improvise it. ## How do you get there from Spain? There is no direct road from Ordesa. From Aragon you go round through the Bielsa tunnel or the Portalet pass and climb via Lourdes and Luz-Saint-Sauveur. On foot you can cross: from the Bujaruelo valley, over the Bujaruelo pass, which the French call Port de Boucharo. Without a car, the nearest railway station is Lourdes, with TGV and Intercités services, and from there the liO 965 bus climbs to Gavarnie-Gèdre via Argelès-Gazost and Luz-Saint-Sauveur. ## Dónde está - Zonas: Pyrenees - Cerca: Ordesa Valley (a 6.8 km · Spain), Cauterets (a 23.3 km), Tena Valley (a 30.4 km · Spain), Aínsa and the Sobrarbe (a 33.0 km · Spain) ## Qué hacer - **From the village of Gavarnie to the Grande Cascade** (3 h 30 · All ages as far as the Hôtellerie; the last stretch needs mountain footwear): It leaves the village, follows the gave along a wide valley and reaches the Hôtellerie du Cirque in a good hour, with little climbing, with the 1,500 m wall of the amphitheatre straight ahead. From there a trail of loose stone leads to the foot of the Grande Cascade, where it is cold and sprays you. Set off before nine: by mid-morning the path is crowded. The cirque is in the national park: dogs are not allowed. - **By horse or donkey to the Hôtellerie du Cirque** (1 h · Children and adults; little ones on a donkey with an adult alongside): The valley's riding outfitters wait at the edge of the village with horses and donkeys that carry visitors to the Hôtellerie du Cirque, from Easter to All Saints' Day. It lets small children reach the cirque without tiring. Prices are paid on the spot and are not published: ask before you mount. - **Cirque de Troumouse, the largest of the three** (2 h 30 · All ages): The largest of the three cirques, with a perimeter of about 11 km at 2,100 m, and far fewer people than Gavarnie. In summer you drive up from Gèdre to the Maillet plateau along a mountain road and continue on foot, or on a little tractor-drawn train, to the bottom of the amphitheatre. - **Cirque d'Estaubé from the Lac des Gloriettes** (3 h 30 · Families who walk; little ascent): From the car park at the Lac des Gloriettes, above Gèdre, the path skirts the lake and follows the stream along an open valley to the Cirque d'Estaubé, the smallest of the three. In summer around 400 cows and 1,200 sheep graze here, and marmots are in plain view. It makes a good afternoon after the Grande Cascade if you are staying in the valley. - **The Brèche de Roland, in the wall of the cirque** (8 h · Experienced mountaineers in good shape): The Brèche is the gap that opens high in the wall of the cirque, on the border between Gavarnie and Ordesa. It is a long day over high-mountain terrain, with snow well into summer. Don't improvise: check the weather and glacier conditions at the tourist office, or go up with a guide. - **Ossoue Canyon with a view of the Cirque de Gavarnie** (3 h 30 · From age 8, able to swim 25 m · Desde 50 € per person): The Ossoue canyon runs down the valley next to the cirque, with a view of the Gavarnie wall. Its difficulty is adjustable: at each big jump there is an alternative for anyone who doesn't want to jump, so a family or a group of mixed abilities can go together. Bring shoes that can get wet, swimwear, a towel and a change of clothes. ## Dónde comer - **Restaurant du Cirque** (Restaurant, Gavarnie, €€). Qué pedir: Trout or Pays Toy lamb on the terrace, with the waterfall in front of you; to take away, a sandwich from Chez Moussu. ## By car: From Huesca, via Bielsa or the Portalet There is no direct road from Ordesa: from Aragon you go round through the Bielsa tunnel or the Portalet and climb via Lourdes and Luz-Saint-Sauveur. In the village you park and everything is done on foot. The car is useful for Troumouse and Estaubé. Presupuesto orientativo: 70–130 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Hôtel Le Marboré** (Hotel): A village hotel at the foot of the cirque Le Marboré is on the rue du Cirque, next to the old village of Gavarnie, at 1,375 m, and set a little apart from the comings and goings of walkers. It is a two-star hotel that Roseline and Bernard bought in 1988 and have renovated bit by bit. The path to the cirque starts at the door: the round trip to the Hôtellerie, or the loops via the Bellevue plateau or the Espugues path, are walks of two to four hours. Rooms and facilities As well as the rooms, it has a restaurant serving regional, family cooking, the Le Swan pub with a big screen, a games room, a reading corner by the fireplace and a fitness area with a spa included in your stay. There is free wifi in the ground-floor lounge. Season and rules Open from 1 June to 30 September, with reception from 7:30 to 21:00. There is no night porter: if you arrive late, let them know. Dogs are not allowed. - **Camping Le Pain de Sucre** (Campsite): A campsite facing the cirque Le Pain de Sucre is two minutes from Gavarnie, beside the gave, at 1,200 m: according to the campsite itself, the highest in the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has three stars, the Esprit Parc National label and a view over the cirque. It opens in summer for walkers and in winter as a "caravaneige" (snow caravan site), ten minutes from the Gavarnie-Gèdre ski slopes. Pitches and accommodation There are 54 level pitches of 80 to 100 m², with electricity and a water point, for tents, caravans and motorhomes, in winter too. To rent: standard four-person mobile homes with two bedrooms and a kitchen, Super-Confort mobile homes with heating and a terrace, a three-bedroom mobile home for six with a mountain view, and wooden chalets for four to six with heating in every room. Getting there From Lourdes, go up through Argelès-Gazost and Luz-Saint-Sauveur: it is an hour on mountain road. The campsite is at the entrance to Gavarnie, and from there you walk to the village and the path to the cirque. ### Servicios - **Tourist office of the Gavarnie valleys**: Information on trails, snow conditions, webcams and transport in Gavarnie-Gèdre ## On foot: Cirques, the Brèche and a night inside the amphitheatre Gavarnie is for walking: three cirques in one valley and the Brèche de Roland for those with experience. From Bujaruelo you cross on foot over the Port de Boucharo. Presupuesto orientativo: 60–120 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're on foot - **Hôtel du Cirque et de la Cascade** (Small hotel): Sleeping inside the cirque It is the building that appears in the middle of the amphitheatre at the end of the path from Gavarnie, with the Grande Cascade straight ahead. It has been receiving travellers since 1845 and is the only place where you can spend the night inside the cirque, when the day-trippers have gone and only the sound of water remains. There is no road: you walk up from the village in a good hour, with your rucksack. The rooms Each room is named after a guide or a figure from the valley: Jean Vergez, Marie Lacoste, Pierre Lacoste, Henri Lacoste, Benjamin and Pierre Vergez-Bellou, Pierre Vergez, and one suite, the Montpensier. There are few of them, so they are booked up well in advance in summer. Eating From May to September the Restaurant du Cirque serves lunch with no booking, traditional cooking with produce from the valleys: Bigorre black pork, Pyrenean trout, Pays Toy lamb and local cheeses. The bar is open from 11:00 to 18:00 and takeaway sandwiches are sold next door. - **Hôtel Le Marboré** (Hotel): A village hotel at the foot of the cirque Le Marboré is on the rue du Cirque, next to the old village of Gavarnie, at 1,375 m, and set a little apart from the comings and goings of walkers. It is a two-star hotel that Roseline and Bernard bought in 1988 and have renovated bit by bit. The path to the cirque starts at the door: the round trip to the Hôtellerie, or the loops via the Bellevue plateau or the Espugues path, are walks of two to four hours. Rooms and facilities As well as the rooms, it has a restaurant serving regional, family cooking, the Le Swan pub with a big screen, a games room, a reading corner by the fireplace and a fitness area with a spa included in your stay. There is free wifi in the ground-floor lounge. Season and rules Open from 1 June to 30 September, with reception from 7:30 to 21:00. There is no night porter: if you arrive late, let them know. Dogs are not allowed. - **Camping Le Pain de Sucre** (Campsite): A campsite facing the cirque Le Pain de Sucre is two minutes from Gavarnie, beside the gave, at 1,200 m: according to the campsite itself, the highest in the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has three stars, the Esprit Parc National label and a view over the cirque. It opens in summer for walkers and in winter as a "caravaneige" (snow caravan site), ten minutes from the Gavarnie-Gèdre ski slopes. Pitches and accommodation There are 54 level pitches of 80 to 100 m², with electricity and a water point, for tents, caravans and motorhomes, in winter too. To rent: standard four-person mobile homes with two bedrooms and a kitchen, Super-Confort mobile homes with heating and a terrace, a three-bedroom mobile home for six with a mountain view, and wooden chalets for four to six with heating in every room. Getting there From Lourdes, go up through Argelès-Gazost and Luz-Saint-Sauveur: it is an hour on mountain road. The campsite is at the entrance to Gavarnie, and from there you walk to the village and the path to the cirque. ### Servicios - **Tourist office of the Gavarnie valleys**: Information on trails, snow conditions, webcams and transport in Gavarnie-Gèdre - **liO 965 bus Lourdes – Gavarnie**: Regional bus from Lourdes station to Gavarnie-Gèdre via Argelès-Gazost and Luz-Saint-Sauveur ## By plane: Fly to Lourdes or Toulouse and drive to the valley From Aragon and Navarre it is quicker to come by car. From the rest of Spain, flying to Toulouse, with direct flights from Madrid and other cities, leaves Gavarnie about three hours away by car; Tarbes-Lourdes is a little over an hour away. Without a car: train to Lourdes and the liO 965 bus. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Hôtel du Cirque et de la Cascade** (Small hotel): Sleeping inside the cirque It is the building that appears in the middle of the amphitheatre at the end of the path from Gavarnie, with the Grande Cascade straight ahead. It has been receiving travellers since 1845 and is the only place where you can spend the night inside the cirque, when the day-trippers have gone and only the sound of water remains. There is no road: you walk up from the village in a good hour, with your rucksack. The rooms Each room is named after a guide or a figure from the valley: Jean Vergez, Marie Lacoste, Pierre Lacoste, Henri Lacoste, Benjamin and Pierre Vergez-Bellou, Pierre Vergez, and one suite, the Montpensier. There are few of them, so they are booked up well in advance in summer. Eating From May to September the Restaurant du Cirque serves lunch with no booking, traditional cooking with produce from the valleys: Bigorre black pork, Pyrenean trout, Pays Toy lamb and local cheeses. The bar is open from 11:00 to 18:00 and takeaway sandwiches are sold next door. - **Hôtel Le Marboré** (Hotel): A village hotel at the foot of the cirque Le Marboré is on the rue du Cirque, next to the old village of Gavarnie, at 1,375 m, and set a little apart from the comings and goings of walkers. It is a two-star hotel that Roseline and Bernard bought in 1988 and have renovated bit by bit. The path to the cirque starts at the door: the round trip to the Hôtellerie, or the loops via the Bellevue plateau or the Espugues path, are walks of two to four hours. Rooms and facilities As well as the rooms, it has a restaurant serving regional, family cooking, the Le Swan pub with a big screen, a games room, a reading corner by the fireplace and a fitness area with a spa included in your stay. There is free wifi in the ground-floor lounge. Season and rules Open from 1 June to 30 September, with reception from 7:30 to 21:00. There is no night porter: if you arrive late, let them know. Dogs are not allowed. ### Servicios - **liO 965 bus Lourdes – Gavarnie**: Regional bus from Lourdes station to Gavarnie-Gèdre via Argelès-Gazost and Luz-Saint-Sauveur - **Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport**: Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées airport (LDE), a little over an hour from Gavarnie by car; car hire at the terminal ## As a family: A flat path to the highest waterfall in France The path to the cirque is one of the few great Pyrenean landscapes that a family can do in full: a good hour that is almost flat as far as the Hôtellerie, and anyone who can't manage any more can ride a donkey. ### What works best The path to the Hôtellerie du Cirque, with little climbing Donkey or horse from Easter to All Saints' Day Estaubé, with marmots and flocks, in the afternoon The Ossoue canyon, from age 8, with jumps you can skip ### Where to stay Chalets and mobile homes for six at Camping Le Pain de Sucre Hôtel Le Marboré, with a games room ### Where to eat Restaurant du Cirque, no booking, facing the waterfall Picnic in the meadows of the cirque ### Bear in mind The last stretch to the waterfall is loose stone and sprays you: bring a waterproof Dogs are not allowed in the national park ### Qué hacer as a family - From the village of Gavarnie to the Grande Cascade - By horse or donkey to the Hôtellerie du Cirque - Cirque de Troumouse, the largest of the three - Cirque d'Estaubé from the Lac des Gloriettes - Ossoue Canyon with a view of the Cirque de Gavarnie ## With teenagers: Canyon, Brèche and a night in the cirque For a teenager, the path to the cirque is not much. Raise the stakes: a canyon with jumps, the foot of the waterfall or, if they already walk in the mountains, the Brèche de Roland. ### What works best The Ossoue canyon, half a day with a guide Getting to the foot of the Grande Cascade, where it sprays you The Brèche de Roland, only with experience or with a guide Troumouse, immense and uncrowded ### Where to stay A night at the Hôtel du Cirque et de la Cascade, inside the cirque Hôtel Le Marboré, with a pub and games room ### Where to eat Sandwiches from Chez Moussu for the trail ### Bear in mind For canyoning you need to be able to swim 25 m The Brèche has snow well into summer ### Qué hacer with teenagers - From the village of Gavarnie to the Grande Cascade - Cirque de Troumouse, the largest of the three - Cirque d'Estaubé from the Lac des Gloriettes - The Brèche de Roland, in the wall of the cirque - Ossoue Canyon with a view of the Cirque de Gavarnie ## Consejos ### Leave the village early In July and August the path is packed by mid-morning and the horses kick up dust. First thing, you have the waterfall almost to yourself. ### Bring a waterproof and mountain footwear By the waterfall it sprays and is cold even in summer, and the last stretch is loose stone. ### Check the webcam before you go up In low cloud the cirque can't be seen from the bottom. The tourist office has cameras in Gavarnie-Gèdre. ### Combine it with Troumouse or Estaubé If you stay two days, spend the second at another cirque: the scenery is similar and there are far fewer people. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How long does it take to reach the cirque? A good hour from the village to the Hôtellerie du Cirque, along an almost flat path. To the foot of the waterfall, a while longer on a stony path. ### Can I go with children? Yes. The path to the Hôtellerie is wide with little climbing. In summer you can do it on horseback or by donkey. ### Can I go from Ordesa? On foot, yes, crossing the Bujaruelo pass. By car there is no direct crossing: you have to go round via Bielsa or the Portalet and climb via Lourdes. ### Is there a bus from Lourdes? Yes, the liO 965 line, which calls at Argelès-Gazost and Luz-Saint-Sauveur. Lourdes has a TGV station. ### When is the best time to go? From June to September. In June the waterfall carries more water; in winter you go up on snowshoes and the ski resort opens. ### What other cirques are nearby? Troumouse, the biggest, which you can drive up to in summer, and Estaubé, the quietest, above Lac des Gloriettes.