Your walk from
Aulus les Bains to
Mérens

You'll want to be comfortable walking 15-20 km a day with sustained ascent — most stages gain 800-1,200 metres on mountain paths, some of them rocky, and Day 2 climbs 1,190 metres in 11 km. The trail crosses cols above 2,300 metres and one day involves a short cable-assisted descent. This is high-mountain walking, not valley walking, and the daily ascent figures are a better measure of difficulty than distance.

June to September is the window. The high cols hold snow into late spring — the Crête de la Lhasse sits at 2,439 metres — so May can carry winter conditions on the passes. October is possible in a settled year, but weather turns quickly and refuges start closing. Mid-summer offers the most reliable conditions; September is quieter, with the same long days starting to shorten.

Luggage transfer runs between road-accessible accommodation, up to 20 kg per bag. Two of your overnight stops are mountain refuges — the Refuge de Bassiès and the Refuge de Rulhe — which can only be reached on foot, so you'll carry what you need for those nights yourself. We sort the logistics either side, and your main bag waits for you at the next valley stop.

Family-run guesthouses, traditional inns, and small hotels in the valley villages — Aulus, Goulier, Siguer, Les Cabannes, Mérens. The two refuge nights at Bassiès and Rulhe are dormitory-style mountain huts with dinner and breakfast included; that's the only option at those altitudes. Where there's a choice, we book en-suite rooms with breakfast.

Yes. The trail is well waymarked with the GR10's red-and-white stripes, the refuges are friendly places where you'll meet other walkers, and the valley villages have other accommodation if you want company in the dining room. The high mountain sections are the ones to think about: you're far from a road on parts of Day 6 and Day 7, and weather can change quickly. Solo walkers are well used to this terrain, but it's high country and you need to be confident in your own judgement.

The Classic package starts at £749 per person for the six-day Hiker pace, based on two people sharing. That covers all accommodation including the two refuge nights, luggage transfer where possible, and your route booking. On the trail you'll want to budget around €25 a day for lunches and drinks, around €20 for the Plateau de Beille shuttle on Day 6, and around €18 for the train back to Toulouse from Mérens at the end.