Marcevol - Arboussols

(en français:
http://www.walks-vernetlesbains-canigou.eu/wikiloc/Marcevol-Arboussols.pdf)

This walk climbs from the shore of the large, man-made lake near Vinça to the magnificent medieval priory of Marcevol. This historic monument is beautifully preserved and is open to the public. The building sits on an open plateau facing the towering Canigou Massif. The route then
crosses the hillside to the enchanting village of Arboussols, from where there are also extensive views towards the mountains to the south.


1 - START: By the side of a road (the D13) which runs between Vinça and Tarerach, just beyond the Pont de Nossa. The Vinça reservoir is on the right. We walk along the road, with the lake on our right, for nearly one kilometre.

2 - Footpath signpost, above, on the left. We go left and we follow a path up the hillside.

3 - Oratoire (wayside shrine), on the right. Here, there is a view over the Vinça lake and towards Vinça and the Canigou mountain. We continue to follow the path, up a valley. There are occasional green footpath waymarks. (The green waymarks go as far as Marcevol.) This ancient paved track, like others on this circuit, previously linked villages such as Marcevol and Vinça.

4 - Path-track junction. The path emerges onto a plateau and here meets a track. We go right, along the track. We follow the track for about a kilometre.

5 - Path-track junction (a building is straight ahead). We follow the path on the left. The path passes a former reservoir, on the right. On the left, we see the priory of Marcevol.

6 - Path-road junction in the village of Marcevol. We turn left and we follow the road through the village.

7 - Road-track junction. A car park is below this junction and Marcevol priory is on the left. We continue to follow the road, which bends to the right and descends. We now follow yellow waymarks (there are also yellow-and-red waymarks, as far as Arboussols).

8 - Road-path junction. We turn left and follow the path. The path descends and then crosses a couple of small streams. The path bends to the left and starts to climb. The path is now a track... The track bends to the right. There are views to the village of Arboussols, on the left.

9 - Track-road junction. We go left, along the road. The road bends to the left.

10 - Arboussols village. We turn to the right and we enter the village (rue de la Cooperative). We follow yellow waymarks through the village. We go to the left (place de la Fontaine and place de la Mairie). The street bends to the right. On the edge of the village we turn sharp left and we go down a lane (chemin des Jardins). The lane winds downhill to the village cemetery.

11 - Road (D35, which links Arboussols and Marquixanes), just below the cemetery. We turn right, and we go down this road for a short distance. We are still following yellow waymarks.

12 - Road-path junction. We turn left, onto a footpath. The path passes a building, on the left, and the path crosses a track. The path winds down into a valley on the left. The D35 road is not far above, on our right... The path crosses two streams. We climb a little.

13 - Path junction. We go straight ahead. Our path no longer has any waymarks, but it is clear and well-used. The path climbs a little... The path later bends to the left and it descends to cross a small valley. Beyond this crossing, the path follows the contour line.

14 - Path junction. Here, we meet the GR36 long-distance footpath, which has red-and-white waymarks. We go straight ahead, on the GR36. The rocky path winds downhill, sometimes quite steeply.

1 - The D13 road at the northern end of the Pont de Nossa. Here, we return to the start of the walk.

(A pdf version of this walk description is at:
http://www.walks-vernetlesbains-canigou.eu/wikiloc/Marcevol-Arboussols.pdf - or click on 'View more' below.)