Termes: The Castle That Fell to Thirst in 1210
Occitanie, France
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Siege of Termes
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300
XP
+100 France
= 400 total
1 day
Termes: The Castle That Fell to Thirst in 1210
300 + 100 XP
Termes sits in the limestone Corbières about forty kilometres south-east of Carcassonne, the seat of a lordship powerful enough to give its name to the whole district, the Termenès. In 1210 Simon de Montfort set out to take it during the Albigensian crusade, and the siege ran for months. The Chanson de la croisade albigeoise says the garrison had wine enough but ran out of water, until a cloudburst filled their vats and barrels — they drank it, baked with it, made soup with it, and were struck down by dysentery so bad that they walked out, leaving everything but their purses. It is one of the five Sons of Carcassonne, listed by UNESCO on 26 July 2026.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Walk up to the ruins on their spur and find the grand logis of the royal period, which was only dug out of the rubble in 2007 — then use the site's own panels to work out which walls belong to the lordship Montfort besieged and which to the royal garrison that came afterwards
2
of 5
Find where the castle kept its water, and then look at how much rock there is between these walls and any spring — that is the whole explanation of the siege of 1210, because Montfort never had to break in: the garrison held out for months with wine to spare and no drinkable water
3
of 5
Walk the village under the castle and read it as part of the fortress — it is the castral village, listed along with the castle and its enceinte — then go to the edge and look down into the gorges du Termenet that the whole site is perched over
4
of 5
From the walls, look south over the Corbières and work out the job: after the treaty of Corbeil this was one of five forward castles screening Carcassonne against Aragon, and the ridges you can see are the ones the other four sit on — Aguilar, Quéribus, Peyrepertuse and Puilaurens. The whole setting has been a protected natural site since 1942
5
of 5
Stand in the first enceinte and put a name to the siege: Raymond de Termes, vassal of the viscount of Carcassonne, who sheltered Cathars here in 1209 and lost the castle the following year — within a generation, in 1228, it belonged to the king of France outright
Walk up to the ruins on their spur and find the grand logis of the royal period, which was only dug out of the rubble in 2007 — then use the site's own panels to work out which walls belong to the lordship Montfort besieged and which to the royal garrison that came afterwards
Find where the castle kept its water, and then look at how much rock there is between these walls and any spring — that is the whole explanation of the siege of 1210, because Montfort never had to break in: the garrison held out for months with wine to spare and no drinkable water
Walk the village under the castle and read it as part of the fortress — it is the castral village, listed along with the castle and its enceinte — then go to the edge and look down into the gorges du Termenet that the whole site is perched over
From the walls, look south over the Corbières and work out the job: after the treaty of Corbeil this was one of five forward castles screening Carcassonne against Aragon, and the ridges you can see are the ones the other four sit on — Aguilar, Quéribus, Peyrepertuse and Puilaurens. The whole setting has been a protected natural site since 1942
Stand in the first enceinte and put a name to the siege: Raymond de Termes, vassal of the viscount of Carcassonne, who sheltered Cathars here in 1209 and lost the castle the following year — within a generation, in 1228, it belonged to the king of France outright
Before you go
The castle opens weekends and holidays only in March, then daily from April to the end of October, with the long hours in July and August, and finishes with the Toussaint holidays and weekends up to 11 November — it is closed through the winter. Entry is a few euros for an adult, half that for a child. From the car park below it is a walk up the spur on a stony path, so proper shoes, and there is no shade on the climb in high summer.
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About Occitanie
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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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