With peaks rising to over 3,000 meters, an abundance of waterfalls and mountain torrents, 230 high-altitude lakes and vast areas of forest, the Pyrenees National Park in France is a stunning concentration of natural riches found only in the Pyrenees.
Highlights of the The Pyrenees National Park
The Pyrenees National Park stretches for 100 km from east to west, from the Aure Valley to the Aspe Valley. This is where you'll find the major natural landmarks and features so typical of the Pyrenees.
Here, in an area covering some 50,000 hectares along the Spanish border stand the giant cirques at Gavarnie and Troumouse, the impressive Vignemale massif and the Pic de Néouvielle. And not forgetting the amazing Pont d’Espagne which stands like a gateway to the Park and is easily accessible from the spa town of Cauterets.
Indeed, the Cirque de Gavarnie and Pont d’Espagne are two Great Tourist Sites in the Pyrénées.
Flora and fauna of Pyrenees National Park
the Established in 1967, the Pyrenees National Park is one of the oldest and richest in France in terms of the diversity of its flora and fauna.
It is home to some 6,000 izards (the Pyrenean name for the chamois and the Park's symbol), masses of marmots and a host of birds of prey such as the bearded vulture, the golden eagle and the peregrine falcon. Here you will also find lynxes, genettes and the last brown bears of the Pyrenean line.
When it comes to flora, there is a profusion of Pyrenean squill, rare lilies, the delicate Ramonda pyrenaica and a host of other little wonders that together make up the 4,500 species that thrive in this haven unrivalled anywhere in Europe.
More info at the Maison du Parc visitor centres in the the Pyrenees National Park
The best way to start exploring the Pyrenees National Park is to head for one of the Maison du Parc visitor centres in Saint-Lary, Luz-Saint-Sauveur, Gavarnie, Cauterets and Arrens-Marsous in the département of Hautes Pyrénées. Here you can find out about all the activities and excursions available to visitors: hikes, excursions led by Park wardens, fishing, photography, discovering the fauna and flora, and more...
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