Néouvielle lakes loop: a two-day hike with one night out
The Néouvielle lakes loop is a 26.2 km circuit from the Orédon car park in the Hautes-Pyrénées, walked by the two of us in August 2026 with a night by the upper Bastan lake. This page has the facts; the free PDF adds the map, our photos, the timing from Barcelona and the checklists.
The PDF is in English only for now. The site itself is in 15 languages; the PDF, GPX and KML files are the same in all of them. Last updated 20 October 2026.
The loop in numbers
Distance
26.2 km, a loop
Ascent
about 1,520 m
Descent
about 1,485 m
Walking time
11 to 14 hours over two days
High point
2,470 m, an unnamed ridge above Lac de Gourguet
Night
upper Bastan lake, 2,266 m (where we slept; see the camping rules below)
Start and finish
Orédon car park, 1,853 m, next to the Chalet du lac d'Orédon
Season
late June to late September; we walked it on 15 and 16 August 2026
Distances and elevations come from our own GPS track; the ascent and descent totals are the sums of the two days. Walking times are our estimates for a mixed group with breaks.
Getting there and sleeping before the hike
From Barcelona it is about 340 km and 4 h 15 min by car via Lleida and the A-138 through the toll-free Bielsa tunnel, then the D177 lakes road up to Orédon. No public transport reaches Orédon. The car park works with a ticket at the barrier, paid by card at the machine before you leave; over 8 hours costs EUR 10 (2026 price), and our two-day stay was one EUR 10 ticket. Sleeping in cars is not allowed.
We slept the night before at the Chalet du lac d'Orédon, the lodge next to the car park at 1,850 m: dorm beds from EUR 20 and rooms from EUR 28.50 per person (2026 prices), open 1 June to 30 September. Our advice is to be there by evening, eat at the lodge and sleep well. We arrived around midnight and do not recommend it.
Day by day
Day 1: Orédon to the upper Bastan lake
10.8 km, +870 m, −460 m, 5 to 7 hours
Straight from the car park the trail climbs about 400 m through pines to Col d'Estoudou and the first big view. A long descent follows to Lac de l'Oule, the low point of the day, and then the Bastan valley climbs past the shepherds' hut to a small lake at km 8.4, where we had lunch. The Refuge de Bastan was closed, so do not count on it. We slept at the upper Bastan lake at 2,266 m.
km
Point
Elevation
0.0
Orédon car park, start
1,853 m
2.2
Col d'Estoudou
2,260 m
4.3
Lac de l'Oule, low point
1,811 m
6.5
Cabane du Bastan
8.4
Lunch by the lake
2,155 m
9.1
Refuge de Bastan (closed in August 2026)
10.7
Our camp, upper Bastan lake
2,266 m
Day 2: over the ridge and Col d'Aumar back to Orédon
15.5 km, +650 m, −1,025 m, 6 to 7 hours
Goats visited our camp at dawn. We left at nine for the hardest climb of the weekend: past Cabane de Port-Bielh and Lac de Gourguet, then a steep rocky slope to the 2,470 m ridge. From the junction the route keeps on to Col d'Aumar. The Aubert car park below the col is not a shortcut to a car left at Orédon. A long descent brings you back to Orédon; we stopped for coffee by the lake 3 km before the end.
km
Point
Elevation
13.0
Cabane de Port-Bielh
16.0
Lac de Gourguet
18.4
High point, unnamed ridge
2,470 m
20.3
Col d'Aumar
2,380 m
23.2
Coffee stop by the lake
26.2
Orédon car park, finish
1,889 m
The interactive map of the loop, with both days and the elevation profile, is on the home page.
Camping in the reserve
Inside the Réserve naturelle nationale du Néouvielle a tent is allowed only in the two marked bivouac areas, at Lac d'Orédon and Lac d'Aubert, from 19:00 to 09:00. Everywhere else in the reserve it is forbidden.
Fires are forbidden everywhere in the reserve: gas stove only. No dogs, even on a lead, no drones, no swimming in the lakes. Do not feed the goats or other livestock. Take all rubbish home.
Our camp at the upper Bastan lake is where we slept, not a recommendation. Whether that spot lies inside the reserve is not confirmed; we are checking with the Parc national des Pyrénées. Until then the marked areas at Orédon and Aubert are the only legal option we can point to.
Rules change every year, and summer fire orders from the Hautes-Pyrénées prefecture can also ban camping near forests. Check both before you go.
Safety and honesty
Summer storms build in the afternoon: plan to be below the ridges and over Col d'Aumar by 14:00. Forecast: meteofrance.com.
Bail-out from the ridge or Col d'Aumar: walk down to the Aubert car park and take the summer shuttle back to Orédon, about every 30 minutes, 09:30 to 18:00, mid-June to mid-September (2026 Orédon site brochure, checked 18 October 2026).
The emergency number is 112 in France and Spain. Agree a route and a meeting point before you start, and do not split the group.
Honest note: this was a group trip with slow walkers, and the loop we had planned was not completed. We changed the plan on day 1 and camped at a closer lake. This guide describes what we actually walked, not what we planned.
What is in the free PDF
Six A4 pages, made to be saved on your phone and to work when there is no signal:
Cover: the key numbers and seven of our photos
The route: map, elevation profile and the day-by-day table
Day 1 and day 2: text, waypoints with kilometres and elevations
The weekend by the clock from Barcelona, and the places we link to
Sleeping in the reserve, safety, and the backpack, shared and food checklists
Navigating with Organic Maps: how to import the KML and GPX files
The GPX file is the full course of the loop with elevation, recorded on our watches, and opens in Garmin, Strava, Komoot and most map apps. The KML file holds the same track plus 13 bookmarks for Organic Maps: lodge, cols, lakes, lunch stop, camp, high point and the bonus stops.
No email needed. We do not take bookings: we link to places and you book directly, and we earn nothing from it. Camp rules, shuttle hours and prices were checked in 2026; confirm them before you go.