Brèche de Roland
This dramatic natural gap is located 12 km (7 miles) west of the village of Gavarnie. Take D923 up to the Col des Tentes, where you can park and walk five hours up to the Brèche de Roland Glacier (you cross it during the last two hours of the hike). For a taste of mountain life, have lunch high up at the Club Alpin Français's Refuge la Brèche de Roland–Sarradets, at an altitude of just under 8,500 feet. This is a serious climb, only doable from mid-June to mid-September, for which you need (at the very least) good hiking shoes and sound physical conditioning. Crampons and ice axes can be rented in Gavarnie.
