The steep narrow road to Lac des Gloriettes

Barrage des Gloriettes is a high mountain lake in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.

Lac des Gloriettes
Lac des Gloriettes

Located in the Pyrenees, a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain, the road to the reservoir is paved but very narrow. Due its narrowness, the road is closed to buses and trucks. It’s called D922. It’s a very scenic road, with uncountable turns and twists. The surface is rough and there are hairpins everywhere with views of the Cirque d'Estaube.

Located in the Upper Pyrenees, the road ends at 1.673m (5,488ft) above the sea level, on a parking lot. It’s usually crowded in summers. The road is usually impassable from November to June. Starting from D922 (Cirque de Troumouse road), the road is 2.2 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 212 meters. The average percentage is 9.63 %.