Col de Puymorens, an iconic road in the Pyrénées

Col de Puymorens is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 1.920m (6,299ft) above the sea level, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, in southern France close to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea.

The road to the summit is paved. It’s called N320. The pass was bypassed by a tunnel in 1994. This road can be closed anytime when the access is not cleared of snow and has been featured in the Tour de France bicycle race. There is a lot of traffic throughout the climb, including heavy goods vehicles.

There are 2 routes to reach the summit. Starting from Ax les Thermes, the ascent is 27.2 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 1.200 meters. The average percentage is 4.4 %. The maximum slope is 7.7%. If climbing from Ax-les-Thermes much of it is dual carriageway and there are lots of trucks using the route between France and Spain via the Tunnel du Puymorens.
And starting from Latour de Carol, the ascent is 18.8 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 670 meters. The average percentage is 3.6 %. The maximum slope is 5.3%.