Vertical mountains, edelweiss and shepherds: a journey through the Aspe valley, going up its gave

It is one of the three mountain valleys of Béarn, and perhaps the most beautiful. From Oloron to Urdos, everything lends itself to wonder. Its monuments are made of both stone and ferns.

It's not a place that resembles Louisiana. Nor Italy, for that matter. It doesn't need to. Of the three Béarn mountain valleys, it's surely the most famous. Ossau, however, has its nationally renowned AOP cheese—although the appellation is in turmoil—its little Artouste train, its lake hike; Barétous has its musketeers, its alpine ski resort...

From the Aspe valley emanates something magical, an “extra soul”

But the Aspe Valley emanates something magical, an "extra soul" that means that, even if you haven't been there, you already know it a little. Perhaps for its grandiose panoramas, or its few architectural masterpieces. Perhaps also for its colorful figures who have marked the valley's history: politicians, shepherds, artists, activists... To get to know it better, let's follow the watercourse around which it was built. Let's go up its Gave.

Starting point of our trip: Oloron-Sainte-Marie, a confluence town. Where the Aspe and Ossau rivers meet to form the Oloron River. Head to the Gaves media library, an award-winning building with a large bay window that offers a wonderful view of this river spectacle. On some bad weather days, one of the rivers turns blue-green, while the other turns brown. A few kilometers upstream from this perpetual roar, you'll find the Soeix Water Sports Center . Ideal for rafting, kayaking, inflatable boating, or hydrospeeding.

If we continue upstream, we arrive at the village of Lurbe-Saint-Christau. A radical change of atmosphere. An emblematic site of the golden age of Pyrenean thermalism – which reached its peak in the 19th century, with the major roadworks carried out by Napoleon III – the spa resort today takes on the air of a ghost town.

A short walking tour allows you to appreciate the decline of the place, which began in the late 1990s, when the operators and spa guests closed in. While the architectural heritage has been neglected, time has given it a patina of obvious charm.

A jump over the Gave, heading for the other side of the mountains and the village of Lourdios-Ichère. A visit to the Ecomuseum of Pastoralism - "Ça-ï, Ça-ï" - is a must. For the rest, we asked an emblematic figure of the valley for his favorite spots. It must be said that, at 2.02 m, he enjoys a vantage point that not everyone can afford.

A rugby player, the local boy made Lourdios proud when his second-row talents propelled him to the top of the Top 14, a championship he won with Castres Olympique in 2018. Yes, it was indeed Thibault Lassalle who agreed to play the tour guide for "Sud Ouest Week-End".

"I think my favorite place is where my uncle Julien is a shepherd: the Saoudarie mountain pasture, which is located below the King's Throne. I used to go there very often when I was little. It's not a very high mountain, about 1,000 meters above sea level. The mountain pasture is located on a ridge, on which there is a large flat area, with a void on both sides. When the weather is nice, you have a magnificent view: you can see the Pierre-Saint-Martin resort [in the Barétous Valley] and the village of Lourdios."

Thibault remembers his first steps in Saoudarie, with Julien. "My first memories there are when the cabin hadn't yet been restored, it was microscopic. My uncle had set up a caravan. I remember waking up in the caravan at daybreak, before going to milk the sheep. In spring, above Saoudarie, edelweiss grows..." The man who now plays at the regional level, at US Aspoise, with his two brothers, still likes to return to Saoudarie to share moments with family or friends. "We always meet there at the end of August with friends to meet, sing... At the club, some are great guitar players and sing very well."

Like Julien Lassalle, many mountain pasture shepherds enjoy the company of hikers during their summer hermitage: don't hesitate to take a little more food in your hiking bag, even if it means adding a good bottle, to fraternize with the shepherds. Some sell their cheeses directly in the hut. All that's left is to roll the tommes back down.

We get it, you don't need to go very high to be amazed. But let's not lie to ourselves, high mountains are also impressive. It's time to head towards the stars of the Aspe Valley. First of all, a detour, leaving Lourdios, to the village of Sarrance and its monastery, listed as a Historic Monument, whose first buildings, a small priory, date back to the 11th century.

According to legend, Louis XI, the king of Tours, made Sarrance, at the beginning of his reign, a strategic location in case of an enemy attack from the other side of the Pyrenees. He himself traveled there in 1463, a visit seen as both a pilgrimage and a review of the troops supposed to protect, in the event of an invasion, the sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin.

Six centuries later, one might argue in response to the Valois that the enemies of the Kingdom of France were not so much to be feared as the ravages of time. The monastery underwent construction and improvements by the Premonstratensian Order between the 14th and 19th centuries, before the monks were driven out by the Revolution. Having returned to the monastery two hundred years later, in 2022, the Premonstratensians are fighting to have the site renovated, which looks rather dreary.

The church and its cloister are open to the public and well worth a visit. However, it's best to go on a sunny day: the roofs throughout the building have more holes than a good Gruyère cheese. A symbol of divine blessing, rain here is more of a threat. A restoration plan is expected to restore the monastery's splendor... for a little under 3 million euros.

Okay, as promised, this time we're getting down to business. Here's Aydius, a charming mountain village. Until 2020, its inhabitants and natural spaces coexisted in relative privacy. And then everything changed. Probably thanks to the end of lockdown, one of the hikes starting from the village saw its fame explode: that of Lac du Montagnon. A small body of water that has the misfortune of being heart-shaped. That's all it took to excite hordes of Instagrammers desperate for an audience.

The phenomenon has grown to such an extent in just a few years that the town has had to crack down on the growing incivility: so many cars in the access car park that even emergency services could no longer make their way to the accident victims; unaware hikers washing themselves with shower gel in the lake water, disregarding its biodiversity; litter scattered in the countryside; giant makeshift toilets around the lake. The glam is taking a hit.

This year, a parking reservation service is free but mandatory (beware of fines otherwise). The popular hike has gained a little in tranquility. But we strongly recommend waiting until the end of the summer to fill your social media with photos with high "like" potential.

Nature always, and another short hop above the Gave. The village of Lescun, perched in the mountains, is the starting point for some of the most popular hikes in the area. The reputation of the Cirque de Lescun is well-deserved: its vertical mountains, the majestic Grand Billare, the Aiguille d'Ansabère, the Table des Trois Rois, the Orgues de Camplong... All these peaks are enchanting. They can be climbed on foot, but these hikes are reserved for experienced mountaineers.

For the less sporty version, go to the Sanchèse plateau and relax on its large grassy expanses, refresh yourself in its waterfall, and admire the mountains from their base. The views gain in majesty from the lakes of Lhurs or Ansabère , which can be reached at the cost of some effort.

Back on solid ground. Etsaut and Borce, two villages at the bottom of the valley, face each other. In the former, it's impossible to miss the Chemin de la Mâture , the valley's famous hike, especially for its impressive passage along the cliffside.

But the history of this route is even better. It dates back to King Louis XIV and his vast project to build a navy. To shape the masts of the ships, conifers were sought from the forests of Aspe. The interest of the maneuver lay at the foot of the mountains: our good Gave d'Aspe. Risking their lives, workers made rafts with the cut trunks and went down the Gave to Bayonne. A different kind of rafting...

Another piece of history with the fortress of the Aspe valley, the Fort du Portalet . Located on its rocky peak, it is difficult to miss from the national road or the Chemin de la Mâture. The immense bastion was built into the rock under Louis-Philippe, in 1842, to protect the border from Spanish incursions. It was mainly used as a prison in the 20th century, keeping Léon Blum and then Philippe Pétain a few years apart.

Borce contemplates the fort from the opposite bank of the Gave. The remarkable village with its old stones is home to some unusual residents: Ségolène and Diego, two bears who are the stars of the Parc'Ours animal park . The town's animal vocation began in 1971, when children living in the residential home (Clair Matin, today) found and took in a wild bear, which they named "Jojo".

Our journey ends at the border with Spain, in Urdos. Well, almost. If you follow the RN 134 to its end, you'll come face to face with this feat of engineering: the Somport Tunnel, dug beneath the Pyrenees. A breathtaking 8-kilometer underground journey (by car only), which opens out on the other side in the village of Canfranc. It's well worth a final stop. Indeed, the Spanish town of 600 inhabitants is flanked by a gigantic international train station, recently converted into a luxury hotel.

From the 1930s to the 1970s, it was the main stop on the Pau-Canfranc line, which crossed the Pyrenees. During the Second World War, the Nazis transported large quantities of gold through it, without anyone knowing what became of it... For ten years, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Aragon have joined forces to carry out the colossal project of reopening the railway line. The SNCF hopes to reopen it in 2032. A great prospect for tourism in the Aspe Valley.