Top 6 Gorges around Ayguatébia-Talau

Take your time and respect the two-person-at-a-time rule.

Beautiful point to look around and let each other pass

Going up the village to the antennas allows you to have a breathtaking view of the upper Têt valley. The eastern end of the Perche plateau, which carries Mont-Louis, La Cabanasse, Saint-Pierre and Planès, is dissected by the Têt and its tributaries. The landscape changes radically in a few hundred meters, the valley steepening by 500m. This topographic break point in the profile of a watercourse is called a *knick point*. It marks the place where regressive erosion has reached today following the global uplift that the region has been undergoing for around 10 Ma.

The path leaving the village offers a last view of the Cerdan landscape and the Perche plateau before heading towards the mountainous landscapes of the Orri valley. This final glance is an opportunity to visualize the layout of the three generations of flattening: the Carlit and Campcardos plateaus, the Carlit ponds and the Perche and Quillane plateaus. We can also see the imprint that the ice has left on the landscape. The tongue of ice which descended the Têt valley barely 25,000 years ago tore up, transported and deposited approximately 50 m of blocks which today form the magnificent frontal moraine of Mont-Louis and which is highlighted by the forest.

Beautiful point, but watch your head because of the rock points and where you put your feet. Here you can easily pass each other

Breathtaking gorge, great parking 5 euros, just follow komoot for the most beautiful route, fear of heights? Do not look into the depths, but especially where you put your feet. If you are Dutch tall, then also pay attention to the rocky points at head height. What a great trip😀

When the path joins the river and next to a small dam, we connect with the path that comes from the ledge. Here begins the most exciting part of the excursion! Ahead of us are ten bridges, numbered in yellow paint, as well as walkways built with metal panels from which we see the river slide between the rocks beneath our feet. All steps are aerial but well secured with cables and railings. Of course: we have to pay special attention if we go with children. This area, in addition to being a real adventure, is ideal for contemplating the small waterfalls from the front row and listening to the murmurs of the river. Here you can enjoy the grandeur of an overflowing nature… After the bridge marked with a 10, the path widens and we pass over a small stone bridge that crosses the Roig stream, a tributary of the Tet river. We pass a stone hut without a roof and arrive at the last footbridge, located at a point where the river is enclosed by a rock wall. At this point, most walkers turn around and those who continue do so thinking of reaching the refuge of the Ras de Carançà, still far away. The last time I did this stretch (see excursion: https://www.komoot.com/es-es/tour/994475321/ ) it was just the other way around, coming from the refuge of Ras de Carançà.

When we reach the fork in the road, we will continue on the left that goes across the river over a suspension bridge. Here we will find the last footbridge of the route. We enter the Camí de la Corniche (Chemin de la Corniche), which runs along the cliff and is a luxury balcony: Roc de la Madrieu, Serrat del Cortal, Thuès and its church of Sant Genís, the Tet valley... It is a narrow and vertiginous path dug into the rock, similar to the Ruta del Cares, which follows the cliff formed by the river. It seems that it was built to have access to the hydroelectric plant that we left a little above and that produces the energy that moves the yellow train. That is why during the tour we will find access doors to the company's facilities almost hidden among the rocks. The road to the ledge produces vertigo, seen from the other side it looks like a small scratch in the rock, but once inside we see that this is not the case. It is wide enough to walk without problems and it also has a safety cable, as a handrail. There is nothing to fear, but if one wants to admire the abyss it is better to stop and thus avoid a possible trip with dramatic consequences.