Col de Portet: The Ultimate Road Trip Guide

Col de Portet is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 2.215m (7,267ft) above the sea level, located in the Hautes-Pyrénées department of the Occitanie region, in France.

Is the road to Col de Portet paved?

Set high in the Pyrenees mountain range, the road to the summit was fully paved in 2018. This aerial road, cut directly into the steep mountain slope, begins offering breathtaking vistas almost immediately and never lets up. The road is pretty challenging, with 14 hairpin turns, very narrow parts and several very steep stretches, making this short climb quite difficult. It’s a big climb heading towards bigger mountains. In summer time the road is usually closed from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to all motorized vehicles, except for local resident.

How long is the road to Col de Portet?

Located to the west of Saint-Lary-Soulan, the road to the summit is very steep, hitting a 16.3% of maximum gradient through some of the ramps. The ascent is 8.0 km (4.97 miles) long. Over this distance the elevation gain is 655 meters. The average gradient is 8.18%. It’s one of those rare climbs that you can see almost the entire route from down below – it’s hard not to be impressed at the view of the first stretch. With its altitude of 2215m above sea level, it is higher than the legendary Col du Tourmalet.

Is Col de Portet worth it?

The climb has been featured in the Tour de France race. At the summit, the views are spectacular. Portet's top gives you a spectacular 360-degree view of all the surrounding mountain peaks, too. The constant difficulty of this mountain pass may be enough to make you stop after this climb.