This lovely walk will take you into the Biros valley to admire the Araing pond, nestled at the foot of the Crabère peak. Bordered by the GR10, the refuge which overlooks it can be a stopover to discover other natural beauties of Biros.
Araing pond
Pond of Araing © Margotte Marmott - Ariège Pyrénées Tourisme

Road access: From Saint-Girons, take the direction of Castillon en Couserans. Cross Les Bordes sur Lez and Sentein. After Sentein, arrive at a place called Le Pont. Take the road to the right just after the bridge. 700m away, either turn right to reach the first converted car park in Anglade, or continue straight on until the end of the road, to reach the Frechendech car park (smaller).

Ranking & labels

  • Registered with the PDIPR

Location

Couserans Pyrenees

On the western part of Ariège, the Couserans and its 18 valleys is a vast territory divided between high mountains, mountains and [...]

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Equipments & services

Equipments

  • Picnic area.
  • Public toilets
  • Parking
  • Free parking

Services

  • Pet Friendly

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Your itinerary

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1 - Departure English car park

Take the path, located above the building at the beginning of the car park, going left towards Frechendech, towards the chapel of the isard. Arrived at Frechendech, pass above the car park.
Continue straight on the path, left bank of the stream. After 30 minutes of walking, descend towards the river and cross a footbridge. Continue on the path which rises on the right bank of the stream to reach a new footbridge.

2 - Footbridge of Piches

Do not cross this footbridge and continue straight on the path. After crossing a small stream, continue following the signs for the Araing pond until you come out of the wood. The trail continues uphill through pastures to reach the Illau hut.

3 - Illau hut

The path continues its ascent then branches off to the right, towards a new wood. After crossing a small stream, the path rises in the rocks, to arrive in front of the pond dam and find the GR10.

4 - Etang d'Araing and its refuge

Take the GR10 (red and white) on your right. Pass under the dam, and continue for 10 minutes to reach the refuge and overlook the pond. For the return, take the same path to the car park.