PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS

The Pyrenees National Park
The National Park invites you to experience the beauty of the mountains and to feel calm and at one with nature. 50 years of working in the field have brought about the preservation of natural, cultural and landscape heritage as well as the safeguarding of pastoralism and small heritage buildings. There is a warm welcome and a desire to raise awareness and educate various sectors of the public. These are all ways in which we protect our mountain areas.

The Do’s and Don’ts in the National Park

• Respect the signs and the pictograms
• When setting up camp, be sure to be more than 1 hours walk from the National Park boundary or a road access point, between 19.00 and 09.00.
• Avoid setting up camp or your camping car at night
• Do not make a fire
• Respect the peaceful surroundings
• Bring rubbish bags to take away your own rubbish
• Do not walk dogs even on a lead (except on the main path up to the hotel in the Gavarnie Cirque and in the Marcadau-Cauterets valley, from Puntas car park to the Clot refuge where animals are allowed but must be kept on a lead)
• Do not pick or harvest plant species
• Do not hunt or fish with weapons
• Respect the regulations for non-motorized flight apparatus
• Do not drive in 4 × 4’s or motor cross bikes
• Do not mountain bike outside the authorized slopes (The cross-country skiing tracks at Brousset – Ossau valley and Somport – Aspe valley)

The Pibeste-Aoulhet Nature Reserve The Pibeste-Aoulhet Nature Reserve, was created in 1994 and is the largest Regional Nature Reserve in France with an area of ​​5,000 ha. Discover this unique natural area in the heart of the Pibeste limestone massif. Because of its unique geographical location, it benefits from climatic influences from the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the mountains – you can therefore bear witness to a great diversity of flora and fauna: more than 850 plant species, 22 species of birds of prey including the Egyptian vulture, the Reserve’s emblem, and many large mammals such as the Mouflon – bighorn sheep.

Natura 2000 sites
Natura 2000 is a vast European network of natural sites with biodiversity challenges. Its objective is to maintain, or even restore, the biological richness of the environments taking into account the local economic, social and cultural context. No less than 14 Natura 2000 sites bear testimony to the immense natural heritage wealth in the Gaves valleys and they contribute to the controlled and sustainable development of natural environments.

Focus on Lourdes Lake
Lourdes Lake, the area’s only low altitude glacial lake (424 m) offers a significant landscape diversity and is home to a relict host of rare species. Illustrated information boards allow the visitor to learn about the history of the lake and the peat bog, the animal and plant species…