Gavarnie Falls
From a great height.
Benh LIEU SONG — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pimlico27 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Celeda — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bobleponge31 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Quentinnew — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Cirque de Gavarnie is a vast horseshoe-shaped mountain basin in the central Pyrenees of southwest France, near the Spanish border, about 44 km south of Lourdes in a straight line. It lies within the Pyrénées National Park and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997 as part of the Pyrénées – Mont Perdu site. Victor Hugo called it «the Colosseum of nature» for its huge size and its shape like an ancient amphitheatre. It is about 800 metres wide at its deepest point and about 3,000 metres wide at the top, and its rock walls rise up to 1,500 metres above its floor. Its best-known features are the Brèche de Roland, a gap in the upper rim, and the Gavarnie Falls. Tiered vertical rock walls streaked with snow surround the basin, with the slender Gavarnie Falls dropping from a great height. Below lie green meadows, a small river and pine woods, with an old mountain inn along the path. Visitors walk from Gavarnie village on a fairly easy path to the foot of the cirque in about one and a half to two hours, and in summer donkeys and horses can be hired for the ride. Snow lingers in the basin until early summer, so go between June and September.
From a great height.
In the rim.
To ride in summer.
Gavarnie, Hautes-Pyrénées, France
About one and a half to two hours.
June to September.