The Pyrenees National Park is also, of course, a haven for lovers of wide-open
spaces, people who want to discover, observe or contemplate this exceptional
natural heritage.
Rangers responsible for running the park on a daily basis, observing and
listing the fauna and flora, receive the public and provide commentaries for
the exhibitions at the Maisons du Parc in Etsaut and Laruns. They also act as
guides on certain hikes.
Walking
is indeed the best way of seeing these fantastic sites, cirques, cliffs,
gorges, and lakes… Access to the central zone of the park is prohibited for
vehicles.
However, there is another way of seeing the Pyrenean views: climb aboard
the little train of Artouste. From the peak of La Sagette, it takes you on a
10-kilometre ride at an altitude of 2000 metres to the shores of the Lake of
Artouste. Sublime.
Created in 1963, the Pyrenees National Park is one of the seven
French national parks. Its central zone of 457 km2 is subject to particular
protection, but the peripheral zone - 2063 km2, 86 villages and 40,000
inhabitants – also falls under its responsibility as regards local life.
It is in this peripheral zone that you will find the Ossau Nature
Reserve, whose name is synonymous for many people with the flavour of its
ewe’s cheese. You can visit vulture cliff, the Arudy Museum, or the Borce
animal centre in the Aspe Valley. Without forgetting, of course, the wide
range of mountain activities: pony riding, mountain biking, fishing,
tree climbing…