The Pic du Canigou: The Catalans' Sacred Mountain
Occitanie, France
Badge Unlock
Canigó Flame
Complete this challenge to add this badge to your collection.
400
XP
+100 France
= 500 total
1 day
The Pic du Canigou: The Catalans' Sacred Mountain
400 + 100 XP
The Canigou is the most easterly of the high Pyrenean summits at 2,785m, standing over the Conflent with a forged iron cross on top that Perpignan scouts carried up in 1943. It was made a Grand Site de France in 2012 as the sacred mountain of Catalan country: on the eve of Saint John, 22 June, hundreds climb to the summit, and at daybreak groups come down with torches to light the Saint John's fires across Catalonia.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Put a hand on the forged iron cross at 2,785 m and work out what it took to get it there: the Notre-Dame-la-Real scout troop of Perpignan carried it up from their meeting rooms in the town in 1943, in the middle of the occupation — and look at what it is bolted into, an orthogneiss that began as granite 425 million years ago and was cooked into its present state when the Pyrenees' ancestors were built
2
of 5
From the summit, work round the horizon and see how far you can honestly claim: the Conflent and the Roussillon plain below, the Empordà over the border, Barcelona to the south on a clear day, and north-east at sunrise the Massif Central and Mont Ventoux — in the right refraction, the Écrins
3
of 5
Walk the 250 metres up from Casteil to Saint-Martin-du-Canigou and find the thing that makes it rare: two churches stacked one on the other, the lower one cut partly into the rock and dedicated to the Virgin, the upper one to Saint Martin, consecrated in November 1009 — then count the cloister galleries and work out which three are original
4
of 5
Go up for the night of 22 June, stay with the fire the crowd lights on the summit and keeps watch over until dawn, and then follow one of the groups that sets off downhill with a torch — each one carrying the flame to a different Saint John's fire somewhere in Catalonia
5
of 5
Look into the north cirque between the Canigou and the pic Barbet at 2,712 m and find the hanging patch of old snow at around 2,450 m — all that is left of the glacier that once filled the whole bowl — then count the climate bands you have driven and walked through on the way up, Mediterranean to about 1,000 m, montane to 1,700, subalpine to 2,300 and alpine above that, with no permanent snow zone at all
Put a hand on the forged iron cross at 2,785 m and work out what it took to get it there: the Notre-Dame-la-Real scout troop of Perpignan carried it up from their meeting rooms in the town in 1943, in the middle of the occupation — and look at what it is bolted into, an orthogneiss that began as granite 425 million years ago and was cooked into its present state when the Pyrenees' ancestors were built
From the summit, work round the horizon and see how far you can honestly claim: the Conflent and the Roussillon plain below, the Empordà over the border, Barcelona to the south on a clear day, and north-east at sunrise the Massif Central and Mont Ventoux — in the right refraction, the Écrins
Walk the 250 metres up from Casteil to Saint-Martin-du-Canigou and find the thing that makes it rare: two churches stacked one on the other, the lower one cut partly into the rock and dedicated to the Virgin, the upper one to Saint Martin, consecrated in November 1009 — then count the cloister galleries and work out which three are original
Go up for the night of 22 June, stay with the fire the crowd lights on the summit and keeps watch over until dawn, and then follow one of the groups that sets off downhill with a torch — each one carrying the flame to a different Saint John's fire somewhere in Catalonia
Look into the north cirque between the Canigou and the pic Barbet at 2,712 m and find the hanging patch of old snow at around 2,450 m — all that is left of the glacier that once filled the whole bowl — then count the climate bands you have driven and walked through on the way up, Mediterranean to about 1,000 m, montane to 1,700, subalpine to 2,300 and alpine above that, with no permanent snow zone at all
Before you go
On the night of 22 June hundreds climb the Canigou for the Saint John fire.
You cannot drive yourself to the Cortalets between 31 May and 1 October: only the licensed 4x4 shuttle is allowed up the piste, and it leaves from Fillols or Vernet-les-Bains, so book it. Out of season the track is open to vehicles but is very muddy and sometimes impassable, and it is not a road for a motorhome in any month. Snow lies continuously above 1,800 m from mid-November to the end of May. If you come up the south side from Mariailles instead, the last stretch is an unequipped 70-metre chimney. Park in the valley and take the shuttle rather than trying the piste. The path up to the abbey from Casteil climbs 250 m and cars are restricted on it.
Finding nearby campsites...
About Occitanie
Loading region info…
Explore more about Occitanie:
Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
400 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
500 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
More challenges nearby
within 100km
Villefranche-de-Conflent: Vauban's Walls, the Thousand Steps to Fort Libéria and Saint-Martin-du-Canigou
France · Occitanie
history
medium
2d
11 km away
Céret: Picasso's Cherry Town and the Devil's Bridge
France · Occitanie
cultural
easy
1d
24 km away
The Train Jaune: Over the Pyrenees to the Highest Station on the SNCF Network
France · Occitanie
scenic
easy
2d
28 km away
Vall de Núria: A Rack Railway to a Statute
Spain · Catalonia
scenic
medium
1d
28 km away
The Vallée d'Eyne: The Botanists' Valley
France · Occitanie
ecotourism
easy
1d
32 km away
Puilaurens: The White Lady's Tower on the Mont Ardu
France · Occitanie
history
medium
1d
34 km away