The Cathar Way - A Walker's Guidebook
The Cathar Way
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£12.00
STAGE 4 (Main Route) - Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse to Prugnanes
Distance: 17.5km
Walking Time: 4 hours 30 mins (plus two hours to visit Peyrepertuse Castle)
Altitude: Between 280m and 670m
Total Ascent/Descent: 650m/670m (in addition, there is a climb of about 200m from the trail to Peyrepertuse Castle)
IGN 1:25,000 Map: 2447OT (Tuchan); Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse is in map fold 5D, Prugnanes is in map fold 1D
This stage begins with a long climb, dominated by the huge, towering cliffs on which stand the ruins of Peyrepertuse Castle, the largest of the Cathar castles, apart from Foix and Carcassonne. To visit Peyrepertuse, you must turn off the trail for a short distance, and you should allow a couple of hours for this detour and a tour of the castle.
Later on this stage, you approach the stunning Galamus Gorge, but the Main Route of the trail does not go through the gorge itself (the North Variant does). Instead, the Main Route descends and crosses the River Agly, then climbs over a hill to the village of Prugnanes.
The landscape continues as scrub-covered limestone hills, with steep crags and deep ravines. Vineyards become more scattered, and there are extensive views over the Fenouillèdes Hills to the south.
Navigation
Much of this section of the Sentier Cathare – from point (2) to point (8) – follows the same route as that of the GR36 long-distance path, so you will see red and white waymarks as well as the Sentier Cathare's blue and yellow ones.
Near the entrance to the Galamus Gorge, at point (5), the Main Route goes down into the Agly Valley, while the North Variant continues along the road through the gorge.
The area crossed by this stage is rich in local walking routes that carry yellow waymarks and occasional homemade signs – be careful not to wander off onto one of these local circuits.
Climb up through Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse (1) and emerge onto the tarmacked access road to Peyrepertuse Castle.
The Sentier Cathare climbs the winding access road for a couple of kilometres, with the castle perched on the massive cliffs to the right.
You eventually reach a point (2) where the access road to the castle swings sharply to the right, while the Sentier Cathare continues straight on, along a jeep track heading west. (To visit the castle, turn right here, and return to this point later.)
Follow the track ahead, as it terraces high above the valley on your left, for 2.5km. At the head of that valley, the track bends to the left. To the right is a view of the Pech de Bugarach.
Fork right off the track, along a path that goes through a gap in a fence (3).
Terrace around the head of a valley, falling away to the right. The path joins a track on the left. Turn right along that track for a very few metres, then left, off the track, and pass below a watering point for livestock.
The path now enters woodland and climbs stiffly beneath limestone crags, finally emerging onto an open plateau, the Pla de Brézou.
The trail crosses the plateau, descending gently, then enters woodland and descends into a valley. The surface becomes rocky, and perhaps a little slippery, and you then enter relatively open country, the path swinging left around the shoulder of a hill.
At the Col de Corbasse the path swings right, descending quite steeply straight down a small valley. Finally, you cross a stream where there is a small vineyard on the right. You are now on a jeep track that later swings to the right and descends to meet the D7 (4).
If you want to go to St-Paul-de-Fenouillet from here, turn left down the D7 (although you might like first to turn right to view the Galamus Gorge – see below). To return to the trail from St-Paul, follow one of the various possible routes by road, track or path that are marked on the 1:25,000 map. For example, take the lane that branches north off the D117 on the western outskirts of St-Paul, near the Champion supermarket. After crossing the railway line, it is signposted for walkers and cyclists as a route to Palmières. From there, head west along a track to Prugnanes, meeting the Main Route of the Sentier Cathare along the way.
From (4), the Main Route turns right and follows the D7 uphill for a couple of kilometres.
At (5), where there is a sign for a car park 200m beyond, the Main Route turns sharp left down a stony path, and the North Variant continues along the road.
From the car park there is a view of the magnificent Galamus Gorge, and a famous hermitage perched on one of its cliffs, so it worth walking up to the car park and back to admire the view before you go down the path.
The path from (5) descends steeply into the valley, zigzagging at first. After those zigzags, go right at a path fork. Eventually, you arrive at the bottom of the valley, by a small canal. A large building (la Tirounère) can be seen on the other side of the wide River Agly. Cross the river here by a wooden footbridge (6).
Turn left up a wide track. If a gate ahead is locked, pass through a gap to the right of it. The tarmacked lane beyond the gate rises to a small col where you turn right, onto a jeep track. Where the track swings left, go straight on, onto a footpath leading into the semi-woodland beyond.
The path starts to climb steeply. Eventually it comes to a T-junction of paths at the Col de Lenti (7), where you turn right. (After a few metres, a path goes off to the left – it used to be signposted for Prugnanes, but this is no longer the case, although it is evidently still well used. It soon descends to meet a track that, to the right, eventually reaches Prugnanes. The official route of the Sentier Cathare is rather longer, and is described in the following paragraph.)
Beyond the Col de Lenti, the path zigzags up a section of dark, craggy rock, then comes to a path fork (8). Turn left and follow the path into the valley below. (The GR36 continues straight ahead, up the slope.) In the bottom of the valley, join a track and turn right along it. The track climbs a little, then descends gently to Prugnanes (9).
Notes for West–east Walkers
If you want to go to St-Paul-de-Fenouillet, follow one of the various possible routes by road, track or path that lead off the trail and that are marked on the 1:25,000 map. For example, take the path that is signposted from the Col de Lenti (7) to St Paul. After passing through a pine forest, this route descends to the town on a jeep track running past vineyards. The shortest way back to the trail from St Paul is up the D7. You meet the trail at point (4).
After crossing the River Agly, the trail climbs steeply to the D7. Be careful not to take another path that forks to the right and goes past a metal seat.
Points of Interest
Peyrepertuse Castle This castle was another bastion of Cathar support, and its occupant, Guilhem de Peyrepertuse, was excommunicated by the Pope for his opposition to the crusade. However, the castle's remote location and formidable natural defences long dissuaded French military leaders from trying to take it by force.
But in 1240 Guilhem de Peyrepertuse took part in an audacious attempt to recover Carcassonne from the French. When that attempt failed, the assailants fled southwards towards the Pyrenees. French troops pursued them and, in so doing, laid siege to Peyrepertuse. Caught at the beginning of winter without supplies or hope of receiving military support, Guilhem de Peyrepertuse surrendered the castle to the French.
The Treaty of Corbeil, between Louis IX of France and Jaume I of Aragon, was signed in 1258. It was drawn up to establish a clear frontier across a region that the two powers had fought over for generations. It also sealed the victory of France in its campaign to seize control of Languedoc – a campaign that had effectively begun nearly 50 years earlier with the massacre at Béziers.
The new frontier, running westwards from the Mediterranean coast near Rivesaltes, placed Peyrepertuse Castle just a few kilometres on the French side. It became a royal fortress, part of the chain of French castles along the frontier, and was almost completely rebuilt.
When the frontier moved further south in the 17th century, Peyrepertuse lost its military significance and fell into ruin, but was designated an historic monument in 1908. Since 1977 it has been the site of important archaeological investigations, so famous that it appeared on a French postage stamp in 2004.
The buildings and walls of this castle are strung out along a limestone ridge with steep cliffs on nearly all sides. From a distance, the ridge looks like part of a gigantic fossil jawbone, with a monstrous isolated molar tooth at one end. The leading Cathar historian Michel Roquebert has described Peyrepertuse as a 'petite Carcassonne céleste' – a small Carcassonne, high in the sky.
The castle is open every day throughout the year, except in January. It may be closed at short notice in stormy conditions.
St-Paul-de-Fenouillet This is the largest settlement on or near the trail between Port-la-Nouvelle and Quillan. A centuries-old town, it has an impressive chapitre, a former wealthy collegiate church. This historic monument, which is now being restored, houses a local history museum.
Prugnanes A charming village, off the main tourist trails, there are no shops, but the water from the fountain in the village centre is drinkable, and the gîte d'étape sells food and drink.
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