Louron Valley

Fact Box

Glacial Valley, Mountain Peaks
Stage finish on Tour de France ‘07

Ideal base for
Authentic Pyrenean villages
Magnificent painted Romanesque Churches
The Gourgs Blancs massif and Lake Clarabide
The Oô lake and its 273m waterfall
On the HRP High Pyrenean Route
On the GR10 coast to coast walking route

Skiing at Val Louron
From 1450m to 2200m
22km downhill slopes
5 green
6 blue
6 red
1 black
Car free resort

Click links below for
Piste Map
Lift Pass Tariff

Summer activities
Excellent paragliding at Val Louron
110km mountain bike trails
Chairlift at Val Louron equipped to take bikes
Thermal Spa at Loudenvielle

On the road between Arreau and the Col de Peyresourde is the small glacial Louron Valley set amongst high mountain peaks. Look around authentic Pyrenean villages and exceptional Romanesque churches, whose walls and ceilings were exquisitely painted during the counter-reformation in the 16th century. These fine murals are particularly enchanting at the churches in Vielle-Louron, Germ and Mont.

The valley has improved its attractions recently and now boasts the Génos-Loudenvielle Lake. Although a recent creation it occupies the area of an old natural glacial lake and blends naturally into the surroundings. At 1000m elevation looking out over majestic views this is an ideal family spot for picnicking and enjoying the various activities on the water.

For walkers there are numerous trails and the area is linked to both the GR10 coast to coast and the HRP high Pyrenean walking routes. The Soula Refuge serves the area well making hikes possible to the wild and relatively unknown border massif of Gourgs Blancs at 3129m and the stunning Lake Clarabide at 2650m. For day trippers Lac d’Oô is accessible by car followed by about an hours walk and boasts a spectacular lake and a thunderous waterfall, ranked second in depth in the Pyrenees behind the legendary Grande Cascade at the cirque de Gavarnie.

In winter the ski station of Val Louron perched high above Loudenvielle provides a compact family facility to contrast its larger neighbour, Peyragudes. There are 22km of piste between 1450m and 2200m providing skiing mainly for beginners to intermediates.

In summer Val Louron fills with Paragliders taking advantage of the perfect conditions. The Myrtilles chair lift ferries walkers and mountain bikers to the 1900m top station from where there is a spectacular view of the Louron and Aure valleys and a choice of mountain lakes to walk to whilst mountain bikers tackle the thrilling descent.

In 2007 Loudenvielle hosted the finish of the 15th stage of the Tour de France. Starting in Foix the route took on no fewer than five referenced mountain passes including the Port de Balès (19.5 km at 6.2%), a first for the Tour and then the Col de Peyresourde (9.7 km at 7,8%) before finishing at Loudenvielle.

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