Access : Gavarnie village
Start : parking area in the village centre
Climb : 370 metres
Average Climbing time : 3 hours
Map :IGN TOP 25 1/25 000 1748 OT "GAVARNIE - LUZ-SAINT-SAUVEUR"

The Saint-Saud path, named after a 19th century Pyreneeist, takes you to the Bellevue plateau.
From there you will be able to admire the Gavarnie cirque, an incredible limestone amphitheatre with a worldwide reputation. From the centre of the village, take the mule track towards the cirque up to the Brioule bridge (1380 m) which you will leave on your left.
Continue up to a little hut called "le Pailla". Take the path on the right which will take you to the "Turoun de la Courade".
Already you have a magnificent view over the Gavarnie cirque and the "Prade Saint-Jean" pastures.

As far as the "Bourlic", the path goes through a fairly bare landscape, scattered with Junipers. In the past this area was wooded and was called "la seuba d'era sarro" the sawmill's forest.

You will come to a footbridge, sprayed by a waterfall. You then enter the "Bourlic" woods and walk up through tight bends sheltered by beech and fir trees.

After the woods which has around twenty species of trees, you will come to a small plateau called "la planette".

The path crosses the river Gave des Tourettes again, whose waters Spring from the Taillon and Gabiétou glaciers. You are coming to the Bellevue or Pouey-Aspé plateau...

In front of you stands the cirque and its peaks : The Piméné (2801 m), the Little Piméné (2667 m), the Pic Rouge de Pailla (2780 m), the Little and the Great Astazou (3071 m), the Marboré (3248 m), the Epaule (3073 m), the Tour (3009 m), and the Casque (3006 m).

You will come back on the "entortes" path (tight bends) 300 m to the North-East of the Pouey-Aspé hut. This way you will finish just in front of Gavarnie village's XIVth century church. This church shelters a statue of Notre Dame du Bon Port which the pilgrims to Santiago de Compostella used to prey to before crossing the Port de Boucharo pass.

In the graveyard a few famous Pyreneeists rest in peace (Georges Ledormeur, Célestin Passet, Georges Adagas, Ludovic Gaurier, Jean Arlaud...).