The road to Lac du Barrage d'Ossoue isn't an easy one

Lac du Barrage d'Ossoue is a high mountain lake at an elevation of 1.842m (6,043ft) above the sea level, located in the Hautes-Pyrénées, a department in southwestern France.

Lac du Barrage d'Ossoue

The road to reach the lake, located in the Pyrénées National Park, is called D128. Starting from Gavarnie, a small town in the Hautes-Pyrénées, the road is 8.8km long with an average gradient of 8%. Avalanches, heavy snowfalls and landslides can occur anytime and can sometimes block some sections of the road, being extremely dangerous due to frequent patches of ice. Conditions can change quickly and be harsh. Road closures can be frequent, so check conditions before traveling to this area. 

The first 4.8km of the road are asphalted, but the last 4km are gravel. The road is steep and very narrow. At the end of the road, near the lake, there’s a big parking. It’s the starting point for a lot of high mountain excursions.