Category: Hiking

The path to the 1000 year old Goa tower starts in Vernet les Bains. In ancient times guards were on duty here to warn the citizens when enemy was approaching. A steep path caries us to the Col de la Pena pass (means mountain pass in Spanish). On the way to the pass we see a flock of 5 wild goats. From the pass we enjoy a gorgeous view to the Vernet les Bains.

Futher on the pass is flatter – we reach the Goa easily. The tower has no doors – only loop holes and a window. The latter is high enough to be used to enter the tower (a good protection from the tourists). We follow the bumpy mountain road to the Col de Jou pass, then to village of Casteil. When approaching the Casteil we find a zoo. The zoo is located on a mountain slope. As we see it standing on our path – to visit the zoo means to climb the mountain. Options are – 2,5km and 3,5km round paths. We decide to skip that.

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From Casteil we follow the path down to Vernet les Bains. It is one in the afternoon hence we decide we have time for one more trip today – to the English waterfall (Cascade d’Anglais). We have to drive by very narrow and steep road to the start of the path. The path follows the mountain stream. It has handrails and footbridges here and there. We are not alone – a group of more then 20 French seniors follow us. A very cheerful and noisy gang. We manage to win the race to the waterfall but the seniors are here in a minute and inflate all the place. Still this does not disturb us to enjoy the beautiful waterfall.

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We do some shopping on the morning in Vernet les Bains, 5 litre volume of red wine inclusive (for Eur6.75). We take the purchases home and drive again to Vernet les Bains, then further to the neighboring village of Casteil. There the path to Saint Martin de Canigou abbey starts. We ascend by the steep concrete jeep road. It is hot and it is hard to go. Still we reach the abbey and proceed up to have a views to the abbey from above. We climb two hours to the place named Cirerola. There from the top of the huge stone near the slope we have great sights on the Abbey far below. After the short break we go down to another viewpoint to have a closer look to the Abbey. The sights on the Abbey inspire as to take a look inside. The tour is guided by a nun. She speaks with passion – unfortunately in French. Ilze understands but not me :-(. There are interesting columns in the Abbey featuring monks with large ears, animals that shield the mouth with their paws. The church has two stores, columns there as well. The Abbey celebrates it’s 1000 year anniversary.

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Clouds accumulate gradually. We rapidly descend to Casteil and manage to jump in the car just before the heavy rain and hail of large grains starts. Beautiful (if you have a roof over your head).

Download file: Catalunia Abbey St. Martin du Canigou.gpx

We drive southward to Limoux. After a short look at the city center and the marketplace we move further to the Cathar castles.

The first one – Arka is located on a grassy hilltop. The castle is closed therefore we decide to move to the next one –  Peyrepertuse castle. It is located near the top of the mountain – we could see it while driving a hour before the arrival. A car park is just below the castle – still there is a half an hour walk up the mountain path while we are there. It turns out that the castle is in fact the ruins of the partly renovated fortress. Close to the Peyrepertuse we find there another castle – that of St. George. Both the strongholds look impressive with double walls around them.

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The next one is Queribus castle. We could see it already from the Peyrepertuse (on a top of the mountain as you might guess). The path to the Queribus is similar to that we had to the Peyrepertuse. The sights from above are gorgeous – summits of the Pyrenees inclusive.

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We follow to the south – to the gorge of Galamus. There we take a stroll to the Hermitage of St. Anthony carved into stone cliffs. A narrow path (and a tunnel) takes us to the Hermitage.

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Next we drive to the Fillols – a small village in the Tet valley that will be our home for the next two weeks. We see the Canigou summit all the time from the Galamus. Still we can not see the Canigou when we arrive in Fillols – the village is too close to the mountain and is screened out by other (lower) summits. This is sort of surprise. We leave a car near the cemetery and set out to search our house. It is tiny but still has 3 stores. The property has a tiny yard and a second house as well.

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Next we drive to the Fillols – a small village in the Tet valley that will be our home for the next two weeks. We see the Canigou summit all the time from the Galamus. Still we can not see the Canigou when we arrive in Fillols – the village is too close to the mountain and is screened out by other (lower) summits. This is sort of surprise. We leave a car near the cemetery and set out to search our house. It is tiny but still has 3 stores. The property has a tiny yard and a second house as well.

We arrive in Carcassonne on Thursday 11th of June 2009. After settling down in Balladin hotel near the airport we set out to Cite (the old city) to look at the famous Carcassonne fortress. The stronghold is on the top of the hill. It is huge. The castle and the medieval town is surrounded by two impressive walls. We stroll through the stronghold and then go to the nearby pedestrian bridge over the Aude river to have the panoramic views on the fortress.

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The East end of the Pyrenees mountains sits in the French province of Languedoc-Rousillon. This region is a part of Catalonia in fact. Catalonia was once an independent state but later was conquered and divided between Spain and France. The Spanish part is still called Catalonia (with Barcelona as a capital). Both in France and Spain the Catalans still honor their native language and Catalan standard. We decided to travel there mainly because of what we have read about Canigou mountain and about Cathars.

The Canigou is the highest summit in the East Pyrenees. Due to its sharp flanks and its location close to the coast, until the 18th century the Canigou was believed to be the highest mountain in the Pyrenees. This mountain has symbolical significance for Catalan nationalist  groups. On its summit there is a cross that is often decorated with the Catalan flag. Every year on the 23d June, the night before St. John’s day there is a ceremony called Flama del Canigó (Canigou Flame), where a fire is lit at the mountaintop. People keep a vigil during the night and take torches lit on that fire in a spectacular torch relay to light bonfires somewhere else. Some estimates conclude that about 30,000 bonfires are lit in this way all over Catalonia on that night. One could add to that that the tradition was started in the fifties of the last century by the local rugby fan group celebrating the victory of their beloved team.

Catharism is a Christian religious sect that started on 11th century and flourished in 12th and 13th century. The Catholic Church regarded the sect as dangerously heretical. Faced with the rapid spread of the movement across the Languedoc region, the Church first sought peaceful attempts at conversion, undertaken by Dominicans. After the failure of those the Church called for a crusade, which was carried out by knights from France and Germany and was known as the Albigensian Crusade. The Crusade, and the inquisition which followed it, entirely eradicated the Cathars.

To defend themselves the Cathars have built a number of strongholds – mainly near the mountain summits. Nowadays the strongholds are of great interest for the tourists.

DIARY:

Carkasonne

Cathar castles

Saint Martin de Canigou abbey

Goa and the English waterfall

Roc colom

Mont-Louis and Villefranche de Conflent

The summit of Noufont

Andorra

Cambre d'Aze

Port Liberia path

Canigou

Train Jaune

Madre summit

Gorge Caranca

Orgues

Puigmal d'Err

Pic d'Eyne

Tech valley