Driving Route des Cols des Pyrenees with 34 remarkable mountain passes

Set high in the French Pyrenees, Route des Cols des Pyrénées is a very exciting journey through the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, crossing 34 remarkable mountain passes, with an elevation gain of 15.937 metres.

What’s Route des Cols des Pyrenees?

The drive is scattered over all 6 French departments of the Pyrenees (half of the route is in the Midi-Pyrénées region) through 34 remarkable mountain passes, many of which have featured as highlights in the legendary Tour de France.

How long is Route des Cols des Pyrenees?

The drive is 942 km (585 miles) long and was created in the 19th century under the leadership of Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie. It was known as ‘The thermal route’ because this route linked many Pyrenean spa towns that were very popular amongst the leisured classes.

Is Route des Cols des Pyrenees worth it?

The journey offers ice, snow, Atlantic storms, flash floods, rock slides, fast drivers and free range cattle, horses and deer. From pass to pass, valley after valley, the road allows you to discover by a posted mountain route many panoramic landscapes of the Pyrenees. The experience is incredible: the landscapes and mountains can change quite dramatically from the Mediterranean side to the Atlantic side. Language, food and culture also changes from Mediterranean France through to the Occitan and Basque regions making the route a voyage of discovery.

Is Route des Cols des Pyrenees open?

The Route des Cols also gives direct access to many remote and unmissable high mountain border crossings such as Col du Pierre St Martin, Port Larrau and Col du Pourtalet as well as the incredible Cirque de Gavarnie and the insane road up to Cirque de Troumouse. Take note however, the higher passes like Tourmalet and Aubisque are often closed by snow from late October through to mid-June. And as always in any mountainous region bad weather even in summer can make many of the cols along the route highly dangerous from snow to flash floods. When touring in this region between April to mid-June it's highly recommended to check the weather each morning for your days route as the risk of flash floods at lower altitudes and rapid temperature drops due to Atlantic storms should not be underestimated.

Main mountain passes from West to East:

Col de Saint-Ignace	Col d'Aspin	Col de Marmare
Col d'Otxondo	Col d'Azet	Col des Sept Frères
Col d'Ispéguy	Col de Peyresourde	Col de Coudons
Col de Burdincurutcheta	Col du Portillon	Col du Portel
Col Bagargui	Col de Menté	Col de la Quillane
Col du Soudet	Col de Portet-d'Aspet	Col de la Perche
Col de Labays	Col de la Core	Col du Fourtou
Col d'Ichère	Col de Latrape	Col Xatard
Col de Marie-Blanque	Col d'Agnes	Col de Ternère
Col d'Aubisque	Port de Lers	Col de Mollo
Col du Soulor	Pas de Soulombrie
Col du Tourmalet	Col du Chioula

Top tip

If the weather in the French Pyrenees is a washout simply crossing the border into Spain just a short distance to the south (20-30km) you'll more often than not find a dramatic weather change for the better with blue skies and blinding sun.
Road suggested by: www.RoadTrooper.com

 

Map by: Par Assemblée Pyrénéenne d'Economie Montagnarde (APEM) - http://www.apem.asso.fr/ repsonsable du développement du site http://www.laroutedescols.com/ — http://www.laroutedescols.com/pages/index.php?m1=M_RDC&m2=M_RCART, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2178404