Adventure Run · GR10, French Pyrenees

GR10 Haute Pyrénées — 5-Day Run

The showpiece section of the 900 km GR10 — Cauterets to Bagnères-de-Luchon past the Vignemale, the Cirque de Gavarnie, and a gîte d'étape dinner every night.

~130 km
Distance
~9,000 m
Elevation Gain
5 Days
Running
2,734 m
High Point

Route Map

West → east, Cauterets to Bagnères-de-Luchon, via the GR10 Vignemale high variant. Numbered markers = overnight stops · triangles = passes.

Start (Cauterets)
Overnight stop
Finish (Luchon)
▲ Pass / landmark

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Click any day to expand · Pick a start date above

Day0
Arrival — Toulouse/Lourdes → Cauterets
Travel Day 🇫🇷 France
▾

✈️ Getting There

Fly Toulouse (TLS) or Lourdes/Tarbes (LDE). Train/bus to Lourdes, then the direct bus up to Cauterets (~1 hr). Spa town at 930 m with everything — last gear/food shop of the trip worth the name.
💡 Notes: Withdraw EUR cash — mountain refuges and some gîtes are cash-preferred. Book dinner at your gîte. Evening walk to the Cascade du Lutour if legs itch.
TypeArrival day
Transfer~2–3 hr
Overnight
Cauterets (930 m)
Booking.com →
Day1
Cauterets → Hourquette d'Ossoue → Gavarnie
Very Hard Vignemale high variant ~26 km · 7–8 hr
▾

Highlights

Pont d'Espagne cascades Lac de Gaube Vignemale north face (3,298 m) Hourquette d'Ossoue (2,734 m)
⚠ Notes: Straight into the queen stage — the GR10's high variant and its highest point. Climb past the Pont d'Espagne waterfalls to Lac de Gaube, up-valley to Refuge des Oulettes under the glaciated Vignemale north face, over Hourquette d'Ossoue, past Refuge de Bayssellance (highest staffed refuge in the Pyrenees — soup stop), and the long Ossoue valley descent to Gavarnie. Snow lingers near the pass into July — check conditions.
Distance~26 km
Elev Gain↑ ~1,950 m
Elev Loss↓ ~1,500 m
Moving Time7–8 hr
DifficultyVery Hard
Overnight
Gavarnie (1,365 m)
Booking.com →
Day2
Gavarnie → Hourquette d'Alans → Héas → Piau-Engaly
Hard Cirque de Gavarnie ~28 km · 7–8 hr
▾

Highlights

Cirque de Gavarnie (UNESCO) Grande Cascade (422 m) Cirque d'Estaubé Cirque de Troumouse (Héas)
⭐ Notes: Three cirques in one day. Morning under the 1,500 m walls of the Cirque de Gavarnie and Europe's tallest waterfall, over Hourquette d'Alans into the quiet Cirque d'Estaubé, down to the chapel hamlet of Héas under Troumouse, then the climb over to the ski station at Piau-Engaly. Big-wall scenery all day, crowds only at the first cirque.
Distance~28 km
Elev Gain↑ ~1,750 m
Elev Loss↓ ~1,250 m
Moving Time7–8 hr
DifficultyHard
Overnight
Piau-Engaly (1,850 m)
Booking.com →
Day3
Piau-Engaly → Vielle-Aure (Saint-Lary)
Moderate Recovery day ~22 km · 5–6 hr
▾

Highlights

Vallée du Moudang Saint-Lary-Soulan Néouvielle lakes (side trip)
💡 Notes: Easier valley-and-forest day down the Moudang to Vielle-Aure, next to the Saint-Lary resort — real town, resupply, laundry, crêpes. Alternative for lake lovers: extra day inserting the GR10 Barèges line through the Néouvielle reserve (Col de Madamète, 70+ lakes) — the best still-water scenery in the French Pyrenees if you can stretch to 6 days.
Distance~22 km
Elev Gain↑ ~600 m
Elev Loss↓ ~1,650 m
Moving Time5–6 hr
DifficultyModerate
Overnight
Vielle-Aure / Saint-Lary (800 m)
Booking.com →
Day4
Vielle-Aure → Azet → Germ (Loudenvielle)
Hard Balcony villages ~22 km · 5–6 hr
▾

Highlights

Azet stone village Lac de Génos-Loudenvielle Germ hamlet
💡 Notes: Two valley crossings via the stone balcony villages of Azet and Germ — classic GR10 rhythm: climb, col, village, repeat. Optional evening dip at the Loudenvielle lake and Balnéa spa (~30 min below Germ). Sleep in Germ's famous gîte for tomorrow's early start.
Distance~22 km
Elev Gain↑ ~1,400 m
Elev Loss↓ ~850 m
Moving Time5–6 hr
DifficultyHard
Overnight
Germ (1,340 m)
Maps →
Day5
Germ → Lac d'Oô → Superbagnères → Luchon — Finish!
Hard Lac d'Oô ~30 km · 7–8 hr
▾

Highlights

Lac d'Oô + 275 m waterfall Superbagnères balcony Luchon thermal town
🎉 Notes: Big finale. Over the Couret d'Esquierry into the Val d'Astau, up to the amphitheater of Lac d'Oô with its 275 m waterfall (refreshment hut on the dam), climb past Lac d'Espingo, traverse to the Superbagnères plateau, and drop 1,400 m into Bagnères-de-Luchon — the belle-époque spa town. Celebration: thermes soak, then dinner on the Allées d'Etigny.

🚆 Getting home: Luchon → Montréjeau (bus/new rail link) → Toulouse (~2.5 hr total).
Distance~30 km
Elev Gain↑ ~1,750 m
Elev Loss↓ ~2,450 m
Moving Time7–8 hr
DifficultyHard
Overnight
Bagnères-de-Luchon (celebration!)
Booking.com →

Route Highlights

The best five days of the GR10's 900 km.

Day 1
Vignemale north face
3,298 m of glaciated wall above the Oulettes plain — the biggest face in the Pyrenees, met before lunch.
Day 1
Hourquette d'Ossoue
Highest point of the entire GR10 (2,734 m), with Bayssellance refuge soup just below.
Day 2
Cirque de Gavarnie
UNESCO amphitheater — 1,500 m walls and Europe's tallest waterfall. Victor Hugo called it nature's Colosseum.
Day 2
Three cirques, one day
Gavarnie, Estaubé, Troumouse — the full glacial wall trilogy back to back.
Day 4
Balcony villages
Azet and Germ — stone hamlets on sunny shelves, the GR10's village-to-village soul.
Day 5
Lac d'Oô
A 275 m waterfall pouring into a dammed mountain lake with a hut selling omelettes. France.
Day 5
Luchon thermes finish
Belle-époque spa town — soak the legs where Napoleon III did.
Option
Néouvielle lakes
70+ granite lakes via Col de Madamète — the +1 day extension if you can stretch to six.

Trip Planning

Everything needed to make it happen.

Total Distance

~130 km
~81 mi · Cauterets → Luchon

Elevation Gain

~9,000 m
~29,500 ft — GR10 is relentless

Daily Average

~26 km / day
5–8 hr moving · big vert per km

High Point

2,734 m
Hourquette d'Ossoue — GR10's highest

Best Season

Jul–Sep
Snow near Ossoue into early July

Lodging

Gîtes + hotels
Real bed + dinner every night · €40–80

Permits

None
Waymarked white-red GR blazes

Point-to-Point

W → E
Toulouse in and out — easy loop by transit

Distance-per-day looks modest next to your Juliana plan — but the GR10 climbs ~70 m per km, nearly double TMB. 26 km here runs like 35 there. The Néouvielle extension makes it a 6-day trip at ~24 km/day.

✈️ Access

In: Toulouse (TLS) → train to Lourdes (~1.5 hr) → bus to Cauterets (~1 hr). Lourdes/Tarbes (LDE) is even closer if fares work.

Out: Luchon → Montréjeau → Toulouse (~2.5 hr). Same airport both ends.

⚠️ Route notes

❄ Snow: Hourquette d'Ossoue (Day 1) holds snow into early July — check with Refuge de Bayssellance before committing; the low GR10 line via Luz-Saint-Sauveur is the weather alternative.

⛈ Storms: Pyrenees brew afternoon storms faster than the Alps — passes by early afternoon, always.

🧭 Navigation: White-red GR waymarks are excellent; carry the GPX (GR10 traces on GAIA/mongr.fr) for the high variant junctions.

💧 Water: Streams and village fountains frequent; 1–1.5 L capacity fine.

🍽 Gîte culture: Book demi-pension everywhere — communal dinners are the GR10's best feature. Call ahead; many gîtes are phone/email only.

💶 Money

Gîte demi-pension €40–55, hotels €60–90. Cards OK in towns (Cauterets, Saint-Lary, Luchon); cash for gîtes and refuges. Budget €70–100/day.
📅 Booking Timeline
Gîtes are small (10–30 beds) but less contested than TMB — 1–2 months ahead works for July–August. Gavarnie village fills on festival weekends; Germ's gîte is the tightest bottleneck. Most gîtes book by phone/email, not online.
Day0
Cauterets
Hautes-Pyrénées 🇫🇷
Booking.com →
Easy — spa town
Day1
Gavarnie (gîte or hotel)
Gavarnie-Gèdre 🇫🇷
Booking.com →
Fills on peak weekends
Day2
Piau-Engaly / Aragnouet
Vallée d'Aure 🇫🇷
Booking.com →
Ski-station apartments
Day3
Vielle-Aure / Saint-Lary
Vallée d'Aure 🇫🇷
Booking.com →
Easy — resort town
Day4
Gîte at Germ
Vallée du Louron 🇫🇷
Maps →
Small hamlet — book firstPhone/email booking
Day5
Bagnères-de-Luchon
Haute-Garonne 🇫🇷
Booking.com →
Easy — book anytime