Aulus-les-Bains and the Cascade d'Ars: The 246m Falls of the Couserans
Occitanie, France
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300
XP
+100 France
= 400 total
1 day
Aulus-les-Bains and the Cascade d'Ars: The 246m Falls of the Couserans
300 + 100 XP
From the spa village of Aulus-les-Bains, in the Pyrénées ariégeoises regional park, a path climbs about 90 minutes to the Cascade d'Ars at 1,380 m in the Garbet valley: 246 m in all, a single drop of 100 m breaking into a fan of small falls that regroup into one last cascade. Fr.wikipedia calls it one of the most picturesque and imposing in the Pyrenees, and the 19th-century pyreneist Count Henry Russell put it ahead of every rival. The falls and their valley have been a classified site since 11 October 2018.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Walk up from the first hairpin of the D 8 above Aulus-les-Bains, on the road toward the col de Latrape, taking the forest track between wood and pasture, crossing the passerelle de l'Artigou at 1,060 m and following the right bank of the Arse to the foot of the falls at 1,380 m — about 90 minutes each way
2
of 4
At the foot of the falls, trace the water down through all three stages: the single 100 m drop at the top, the head of hair of small cascades below it, and the point where they gather back into one last fall
3
of 4
In the thermal park at Aulus-les-Bains, find the grotto built in 1873 to house the springs that the Romans knew but which only made the village's name in the 1820s, and the war memorial of 1924 in front of the pont du Midi
4
of 4
At Aulus-les-Bains find where the Arse, which rises at the foot of the pic de Turguilla on the Spanish border and carries the falls at its midpoint, empties into the Garbet
Walk up from the first hairpin of the D 8 above Aulus-les-Bains, on the road toward the col de Latrape, taking the forest track between wood and pasture, crossing the passerelle de l'Artigou at 1,060 m and following the right bank of the Arse to the foot of the falls at 1,380 m — about 90 minutes each way
At the foot of the falls, trace the water down through all three stages: the single 100 m drop at the top, the head of hair of small cascades below it, and the point where they gather back into one last fall
In the thermal park at Aulus-les-Bains, find the grotto built in 1873 to house the springs that the Romans knew but which only made the village's name in the 1820s, and the war memorial of 1924 in front of the pont du Midi
At Aulus-les-Bains find where the Arse, which rises at the foot of the pic de Turguilla on the Spanish border and carries the falls at its midpoint, empties into the Garbet
Before you go
The walk starts from a hairpin on the D 8 above Aulus-les-Bains, not from the village, and reaches 1,380 m; allow three hours there and back. The longer loop back by the étang de Guzet at 1,458 m uses part of the GR10 and adds serious height. Park at the hairpin only where the roadside allows it — the D 8 to the col de Latrape is narrow for a motorhome.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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