Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aspin
62 km (38 miles), 1 hr 25 min, advanced
Photo: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, resizedMotorcycle ride in Occitanie
Cirque de Gavarnie and Col des Tentes
30 km (19 miles), 40 min, intermediate
From Luz-Saint-Sauveur, the road crosses the Pont Napoléon then climbs the valley of the mountain river to Gèdre and Gavarnie. This is the start of the very busy path to the foot of the cirque and the Hôtellerie du Cirque, a walk of 45 minutes to an hour and a quarter depending on your pace. From the village, the D923 climbs past the Espécières ski station to the Col des Tentes, where a large car park is the start of hikes towards the Brèche de Roland; beyond it, the old road to the Port de Boucharo is closed to vehicles and can be walked. The pass road is closed in winter and for part of the spring (best from early June to late October, depending on snow). The car parks at the pass and in the village, which charge in season, fill up in summer: set off early. The route stops at the pass: you come back the same way.
Stops along the way
- SStart: Luz-Saint-Sauveur
- 1Pont Napoléon, after 2 km (1 mile)
- 2Gèdre, after 11 km (7 miles)
- 3Gavarnie, after 19 km (12 miles)
- FFinish: Col des Tentes, after 30 km (19 miles)
Download the GPXTrack and stops as a GPX file, for a sat nav or another app.
Photos along the route
This ride in the MotoLert app
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Other rides nearby
Roads change: passes close in winter, roadworks, rockfalls, local restrictions. Check the road before you set off. MotoLert does not replace road signs or the Highway Code.
Route planned by MotoLert with Valhalla on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons, with the author and licence under each image.