tunnels and cliffs above sea level and near Spain

A lake with turquoise waters, impressive mountains and a little red and yellow train that runs along them at the highest level in Europe. Until October 1st is the deadline to board the Artouste train – its departure station is located at an altitude of 1,950 meters – and enter the French Pyrenees, right at the foot of the imposing Pic du Midi d’Ossau. The season, meanwhile, begins in May.

The journey takes about 50 minutes along the steep slopes of Artouste and through the windows of the train carriages – without glass – you can contemplate the majestic Ossau Valley and the beauty of Lake Artouste which marks the end of the journey. It is an ideal trip to enter the most impressive part of the mountain accompanied by the whole family.

Artouste is very close to the Spanish border: it is about half an hour’s drive from Formigal (Huesca). It is also 45 minutes from the French town of Laruns. It is therefore possible to stay in both places and discover this region of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques which has other incredible enclaves.

Cable car, tunnels and 50-centimeter tracks

To reach the small station, you have to take the Sagette cable car, on the edge of Lac de Fabrèges, where there is free parking next to a few picnic tables. It is a 10-minute journey during which it is impossible to separate the face from the glass. The beautiful views of the mountainside are just a small taste of what awaits us for the rest of the journey, a canvas of green meadows, bordered by mountain peaks.

From this point, the little train leaves, which runs along the mountain and practically flies over the Soussouéou valley, covering 10 kilometers. The train journey begins by crossing the 365 meters of the Bear Tunnel. The darkness and the noise of the locomotive mix until it practically becomes the witch’s train. The train zigzags along the edge of the cliff on a one-way track barely 50 centimeters wide.

Once you arrive at your destination, a path begins that, in about 20 minutes, leads to the glacial lake of the same name as the transport. The waters reflect the color of the sky in absolute calm.

During the train journey, you can observe marmots, chamois, eagles, vultures and herds of sheep and goats. From the final stop, a marked trail leads to the very edge of the glacial lake, which is 150 metres long and 90 metres deep. Once there, around 35 hiking trails unfold.

There are two types of day trips, both of which include both the train and the cable car, with both return trips bookable on their website. The “Discovery” ticket is for half-day trips and costs €27, while the “Getaway” ticket is for full-day trips and costs €33.

The excursion durations are as follows:

History

The Artouste train was not built with tourism in mind. The story goes back to the discovery of the lake by Abbot Ludovic Gaurier at the end of the 19th century. At the beginning of the following century, what was interesting about the place was the use of the body of water to produce electricity with the construction of a dam.

The mountainous terrain was extremely difficult and there were no roads to facilitate the transport of machinery and materials to the construction site. For this reason, it was decided to create a narrow-gauge railway line to facilitate access for engineers and workers working in the construction. The Artouste Dam had more than 3,000 workers active in a construction that lasted almost 10 years.

So the line was originally built in 1924 to transport workers with their work tools and construction materials to create the dam on this lake as part of a series of hydroelectric power stations in the Ossau Valley between the 1920s and 1932.

It served as a service train until 1929, when the dam was put into service, and then for the maintenance of the hydroelectric installations. Once this work was completed, the tourist potential of the line was perceived and the first tourist trains were launched in 1930.

Advice