Weekend between terrestrial and celestial walk

Pyrénées ariégeoise – Ignaux

For this weekend, I invite you to combine hinking and astronomy. What could be more pleasant than to spend the night in the mountains and see the celestial vault appear little by little without the worry of returning home. We will start from the small village of Montaillou where we will evoke its Cathar past so well described by the historian Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie. We will walk quietly to the refuge taking paths and tracks without difficulty. This is where I will show you the sky, the constellations and their legends with the naked eyes and binoculars. The day after, we will close our loop through the Prades forest.

Do not forget your equipment : equipment list

Day 1 : Car trip & hike & Astronomical evening

From Montaillou to the Chioula refuge - Aude

8 km
550m / -220m

Next departure

We will leave from the village of Montaillou, theater of Emmanuel Leroy Ladurie's book on the inquisition against the Cathar heretics (Montaillou, village occitan de 1294 à 1324, Paris, Gallimard, 1975). We will walk on paths and comfortable tracks to leave the Sault country and climb towards the gentle ridges dominating the Chioula pass. From these ridges, we will be able to admire a magnificent panorama of the Pyrenean massif before gently descending to our evening refuge.

Day 2 : Hike and return to Toulouse

Between Chioula and Montaillou - Aude

11 km
475m / -800m

Next departure

From the Chioula refuge, we will gradually descend to Montaillou, making a nice detour through the forest and the pasture above the Col de Marmare (1361m). This will close our beautiful loop crossing the border between Aude and Ariège passing through the friendly village of Prades.