The “Pic du Midi de Bigorre”

The Pic du Midi de Bigorre, one of the most majestic summits in the Hautes-Pyrénées, awaits you at 2877 metres. Accessible to the general public, the Pic du Midi is renowned for the beauty of its landscape and also for its astronomy observatory and his museum.

Next to “La Mongie”, where we were supposed to take a cable car up to the observatory “Pic du Midi de Bigorre”, the phone saying access to the “Pic du Midi de Bigorre” was closed due to bad weather (too much snow and wind).

To reach the summit of the Pic du Midi, you will be carried away on a magnificent ascent. All year round, summer and winter alike, go to La Mongie, the Domaine du Tourmalet ski resort. You will climb 1,000 metres in 15 minutes in the cable car, just time to give you a foretaste before reaching the peak at 2,877 metres.

The site of the Pic du Midi is a site of high mountains, which was designed to accommodate visitors to 2877m safely. Conditions sightseeing are those that are found only in altitude. Here are some important recommendations to make the most of your visit to the summit.

The Pic du Midi has long been known for the stability of the atmosphere, and the purity of the light found at the top. It is not a coincidence that there was an observatory installed. Oxygen is a little more rare, the air is purer, but also more lively … the annual average temperature is 1°C ! At almost 3000 meters above sea level, the sun is nearest course, its influence is much greater than the seaside.

Up there, the air and the light have a purity and transparency that are the secret of this area, which, for many years, was reserved for scientists. The lookout terraces were laid out over 750 sq. m. You can gaze upon 300 km of Pyrenees summits between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and on the plains of the great South West. The splendor of the landscapes warranted the Pic du Midi being listed as a national natural site in 2003.

It all started with a weather observatory at the end of the 19th century. Since then, the Pic du Midi has been an incredible epic, attracting the passionate, the erudite, the curious, porters, builders and scholars, avidly looking to better understand the universe. The exceptional qualities of the site allow observations and measurements to understand the earth’s evolution. Today, this continuing human adventure is shown in Europe’s highest museographic space.