Our destination is Orgues – sandstone cliffs near Ille sur Tet. Ille sur Tet is a town by the higway to Perpignan. On the way we drop in to take a look at two other towns – Marquixanes and Vinca.
Orgues are sandstone cliffs some twenty or so meters high carved by the rain water. The tour to Orgues includes a path of some 800 meters where one has a diversity of plants, animal sculptures (mammoth inclusive) etc. Obviously the kids are frequent visitors there. The path is followed by a narrow and dry ditch. We find out later that 5 tons of water per second runs through it during a rainfall…
The path takes us to the cliffs after all. One can find there cliffs of different shapes – including ones that resemble an organ (Orgues means organ in French). One can walk around the cliffs and watch them from every side.
We notice similar cliffs at the distance and decide to look at them as well. We drive a couple of kilometers and then climb the thorny path up to the nearby hill to have a panoramic view. It is very hot but the sights from the top compensate this.
Next we drive back to explore Ille sur Tet and Eus. Eus is charming little village with an old church on top of a hill and old little houses around. The church looks like a stronghold a little bit with thick walls around. The streets are narrow and steep. The village has about 300 residents, most of them, perhaps, artisans. The painters are doing their job on the street. They say in our tourist guide that Eus is the sunniest village in France (we wonder – is this the only one sunniest??).
On a way home we make another one stop in Catllar.