• Pyrenees GR10: Part 7, Merens - Vernet-les-Bains

• 15 June - 30 September (every day subject to availability)

• From £790 / €870
• Without bag transfer: less £200 / €230 per booking
• All prices per person, except where stated

• 7 nights, 6 day's self-guided walking moving between accommodation

• A part of the itinerary walking in the Natural Park of the Catalan Pyrenees
• Crossing of the Cerdagne high plateau and its mountain villages
• Discovering the site of Bouillouses and its numerous lakes
  
• The Nature Reserves of Mantet and Py
  
• An itinerary blessed bythe Catalan sun

• Half board

  5 nights in private rooms & 2 nights in shared dormitories.

  Bring a sack sheet (blankets provided)

• Half board accommodation
• Transfers days 5 & 6
• Luggage transport except for 2 nights in refuges
• Dossier containing maps, route notes (1 for 4 persons, given in 1st accommodation)
• GPS tracks if you ask us + access to the detailed itinerary on the Mhikes GPS mobile application

• Travel to Merens les Val and from Vernet-les-Bains
• Lunches and drinks
• Holiday and travel insurance
• Showers in the mountain huts
• Additional transfers
• Entrance fees, additional activities
• Drinks and picnics

• Find out more about the GR10 and the different walking holidays
• GR10 part 1: Hendaye - St Jean Pied de Port
• GR10 Part 2: St Jean Pied de Port - Etsaut
• GR10 Part 3: Etsaut - Cauterets
• GR10 Part 4: Cauterets - Luchon
• GR10 Part 5: Luchon - Aulus les Bains
• GR10 Part 6 Merens - Vernet-les-Bains - see other walking holidays in the Pyrenees: Cerdagne Explorer - Pyrenees Coastal Trail - Azun Valley: Pyrenees Balcony Trail
• Return to Home Page

Walking Profile

6 days independent walking moving everyday between accommodation. It is graded challenging with two days with over 1000m of altitude gain, the longest day having +1300m of ascent. Average days include 6 hours hours walking and 800m of ascent & descent. Details are provided with the descriptions below. Paths are generally good and well defined, although they are often rocky and mountainous in character. You should have a good head for heights and be able to navigate.

Walking Holiday Day-by-day

Day 1: Arrival in Merens

Arrive at your accommodation. Depending on your arrival time, you can visit the village or go hiking.
The Col de Joux
A loop walk that starts on open ground and then enters the forest to reach the Col de Joux between the Ariège and Orgeix valleys. The ridge passages offer beautiful views of the surrounding peaks, including the Dent d'Orlu.
The Etang de Comte
Walk along the Mourguilhou stream, through pastures filled with gentians and rhododendrons, to the pretty and bucolic Comte pond.

• Distance: 11.5km, duration : about 4h30, altitude gain : + 700m, descent : - 700m.
• Distance: 12km, duration : about 4h50, altitude gain : + 760m, descent : - 760m.

Day 2: Merens - Besines Refuge

From Mérens, the GR10 leaves the Haute-Ariège to approach the Capcir region. This is a classic Pyrenean walk of deep valleys and passes. A long ascent along the valley and the torrent of the Nabre will lead you to the Porteille des Besines, at 2333m. Then descend to the Etang des Bésines and its guarded refuge. From the terrace of the refuge, the view towards the Etang des Besines and the nearby Pic Pédros is superb.

• Distance : 9km, duration : about 4h45, altitude gain : +1305m, descent : -260m.

Day 3: Besines Refuge - Lake Bouillouses

From the Besines refuge, the itinerary crosses the Coume d'Anyell pass at an altitude of 2391m, before descending to the Lanoux lake, at the base of the Carlit mountains. Lake Lanoux is the largest in the French Pyrenees, with its surface area of 1.71 km². During your descent to the Lac des Bouillouses, through the Porteille de La Grave, take the time to observe your surroundings, which are favourable for encountering isards and mouflons.

• Distance : 16km, duration : about 5h45, altitude gain : +695m, descent : -750m.

Day 4: Lake Bouillouses - Planes

Starting from Les Bouillouses, a walker's paradise and reminiscent of the wilds of Canada, the GR10 goes through plateaux, mountain lakes and forests. After reaching Bolquere, close to the famous resort of Font Romeu, you will cross the vast high and sunny plateau of Cerdagne, a landscape found nowhere else in the Pyrenees. Then you will reach Planes, a magnificent village with its Romanesque church, unique in Europe with its trefoil plan.

• Distance : 19km, duration : about 6h00, altitude gain : +230m, descent : -745m.

Day 5: Planes - Caranca Refuge

The profile of the walk is reminiscent of a rollercoaster, with frequent descents into valleys and crossing high passes and plateaux. Today's walk crosses, the Pla de Cédeilles (1911m), and the Mitja pass (2367m), a remarkable vantage point to admire the nearby Capcir and the emblematic Pic du Carlit. The influence of the Mediterranean starts to become more noticable in the vegetation at lower levels.

• Distance : 15km, duration : about 6h30, altitude gain : +1190m, descent : -890m.

Day 6: Caranca Refuge - Py

Today, you will walk from the refuge of Caranca to the hamlet of Py. The GR10 crosses the reserve natural of Mantet and then the reserve of Py. There is a passage across the Col del Pal (2294m), with a wonderful panorama. If the weather is good, a short round trip (+1h30) to the easy Serre Gallinière peak will allow you to get even better panoramic views.  And after the Alemany valley and reserve, you will join the village of Py, where you spend the night.

• Distance : 16km, duration : about 6h45, altitude gain : +860m, descent : -1665m.

Day 7 : Py - Vernet-les-Bains

From the village of Py, the Mediterranean atmosphere becomes more and more pronounced, especially with regard to the vegetation. A balcony route over the Rotja valley leads to the Goa tower located on a small natural platform offering a beautiful panorama of the Canigou peak and the Haut Conflent. A ridge path followed by a forest descent then leads you to Vernet-les Bains.

• Distance : 9,5km, duration : about 4h00, altitude gain : +510m, descent : -870m.

Day 8: Departure

Holiday ends after breakfast.