Day 20, Sunday 24th May 2026
It’s been another magnificent day driving in the Pyrenees up and down several cols offering some amazing views especially from the Col du Tourmalet. We ended the day at the Col du Soulor.
We left our little overnight spot in Estarvielle and descended to Arreau. This is our 3rd time here but the village is quaint and had some good information boards.
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| We bought are baguette and a little treat for later… |
Then up to the Col d’Aspin 1489m alt. There were more cyclists than cars and Mark did a great job driving. We stopped of course at the top to take in the views.
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| Bluey with views of Pic du MIDI (the antenna) |
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| The cows are enjoying the Col too. |
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| Views from the way we came up |
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| Selfie with the pic du midi. |
Our next stop was to go for a walk to the Cascade du Garet. We fortified ourselves with our eclairs before our walk.
It was pleasant 2km walk but steep in sections but after yesterday we were feeling it. We enjoyed watching some people do a high ropes course.. it looked like fun.
We were hoping to get some lunch at the ski resort at La Mongie but only a burger place was open which we didn’t feel like having.. This resort is mainly large apartments and lacks the quaint alpine atmosphere.
As we had already taken the cable car to the Pic du Midi in 2014 we continued up the road to the Col du Tourmalet 2115m alt. It is one of the most famous mountain passes, in particular because of its regular appearances as a mountain route in the Tour de France - in the century that the Tour de France has existed, the col du Tourmalet has featured more than 70 times.
First crossed by the Tour in 1910 when the road was little more than a rough track it is also one of the most challenging hill climbs in the Pyrenees, and many hopes and aspirations of winning the Tour have been made and lost on the steep road that crosses the pass.
We get a parking spot and eat our baguette enjoying the fantastic views.
We have a walk around but only the cafe is open.
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| I had just thrown a snow ball at Mark … |
Then it’s down the other side… it was a constant descent all the way into the valley villages down to 500m alt.
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| Protection from snow or rocks |
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| Hydro from the glacial rivers |
As we had already seen the big ticket sights around here we continued on up again to the Col du Soulor 1474m alt. It was cooler up here and there is a dedicated motorhome parking. We settled in and plan to stay another day..
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| Road is closed .. so will leave a different way. |
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| Our companions |
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| Gives a good idea of the main travel route through the Pyrenees from coast to coast.. |
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| 113km today |
