Your walk from
Luchon to
Aulus les Bains

You'll want to be comfortable walking 15–20 km a day with around 1,000 metres of climb, on mountain terrain with some scrambling on rocky cols. This is one of the more demanding sections of the GR10 — the day from Fos to Araing Lake involves 1,680 metres of ascent, and the descents are long. If that feels steep, the Explorer pace stretches the trail to ten days at a more measured rhythm.

June to September is the realistic window. The route crosses cols above 2,000 metres, and snow can linger on the highest passes into June. July and August give the most reliable weather but are also the busiest. Early September is often the sweet spot: paths still clear, refuges quieter, and the high country starting to turn. We don't run the route before June or after early October because the higher cols carry serious snow risk.

Yes — between road-accessible accommodation, up to 20 kg per bag. The exception is the Refuge d'Araing at the end of Day 4: it sits beside a mountain lake with no vehicle access, so for that night you'll carry an overnight kit yourself. Your main bag waits for you at Eylie the next afternoon.

On the Standard package, gîtes d'étape and mountain refuges with breakfast — small, well-kept, the kind of places where the gardien remembers your name by the second night. On Premium, village hotels and guesthouses where the trail passes through inhabited valleys. The Refuge Jacques Husson at Araing is dorm-only for everyone — there are no rooms on a mountain lake — but the food is good and the staff have walked the route.

Yes — the GR10 is well-waymarked (red-and-white blazes the whole way), and the section is busy enough in summer that you'll meet other walkers most days. We book single-occupancy rooms with a single supplement where the accommodation has them. The exception is the dorms at Araing — those are shared, but most refuges have a women-only option. The remote middle days are the ones where you'll go longest without seeing anyone — fine in good weather, worth checking the forecast.

Our Standard package is £1,631 per person for the eight-day Hiker pace, based on two people sharing. That covers accommodation (gîtes and refuges with breakfast), baggage transfer where the route allows, a route pack with maps and notes, and 24-hour support. On the trail, budget around €25–40 a day per person for lunches, evening meals, and drinks. Most refuges offer a demi-pension — dinner, bed, breakfast for around €55–70 — which is the easiest way to handle food and lodging.