Horseback riding from the high plateaus to the Carlit deserts

After preparing our horses and having a briefing on the equipment and the horses, we set off on foot with our horses, then mount up and begin our ride. We leave Camurac and cross the Plan du Boum. From the Pas de l'Ours, we can see the Château de Montségur and overlook the Gorges de la Frau. We enter the Langarail summer pasture, where the herds graze freely all summer long. From the Langarail ridge, the view over the valley is magnificent. We descend to the Sault plateau and follow the Cathar Trail. After a few exhilarating gallops, we reach our gîte.

We took advantage of the rolling paths of the Sault plateau to pick up speed, then descended into the small Rebenty valley. We crossed the Rebenty gorges, then climbed back up towards the village of Mazubi and began a steep ascent towards the high mountains. We followed the old Vauban road at altitude. We passed through Campagna de Sault. We continued along the balcony path above the Aude gorges to Rouze, then Mijanès, where we spent the night at the Mijanès inn.

Crossing Quérigut (castle), the Col des Hares, crossing the high plateau of Capcir, swimming with the horses at Lake Puyvalador then climbing up to the Madres massif where we will sleep at the refuge near the Spanish lake.

We will eat delicious Mijanes trout by the fire with an exceptional view of the border coast.

We leave Sansa and stay on the ridge with exceptional views over the Capcir plateau and the Conflent valley. If the day is perfectly clear, we can see the Canigou peak and sometimes the Mediterranean Sea. We enjoy a few beautiful gallops between the Sansa, Tarn, and Llagonne passes. We finally descend towards Les Angles where we receive a warm welcome from our friends at Equisud.

We take a steep path towards Lac d'Aude. We climb to over 2300m altitude before descending to eat by Lac des Bouillouses.

We hiked for a short afternoon along the lake on a technical trail to reach our accommodation downstream from the lake.

A magnificent and long, very wild day. We spent the entire day in the high mountains, over 2000 meters, in the Carlit desert above the Spanish border. We crossed mountain streams off-trail, passing a succession of grazing herds. We rarely missed the deer and chamois that roam the area. A breathtaking descent followed towards Porté-Puymorens.

Transfer of riders after breakfast to the La Marmite gîte for those who have left their cars, or to Porté station for those who are leaving by train (contact us for train times) or Toulouse airport (arrival at the airport around 12pm, plan a flight from 2pm).