Cirque de Gavarnie
A vast natural amphitheatre of rock walls in the central Pyrenees, close to the border with Spain. The Gavarnie Falls drop from its cliffs, among the highest waterfalls in Europe, and the notch of the Brèche de Roland cuts the skyline above.
- Where
- Gavarnie, Occitanie, France
- Grade
- Local gem
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site
- Coordinates
- 42.6950, -0.0089
Get the Cirque de Gavarnie stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Cirque de Gavarnie. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Occitanie volume with your photos and a note.
Near Cirque de Gavarnie
Pic du Midi 30 km
A Pyrenean summit of about 2,877 metres crowned by an observatory, reached by cable car from La Mongie. Its terraces look along the whole chain of the Pyrenees, and its dark night skies are protected as an International Dark Sky Reserve.
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes 45 km
A Catholic shrine around the grotto of Massabielle, where Bernadette Soubirous said the Virgin Mary appeared to her in 1858. Millions of pilgrims come each year to pray at the grotto, take its water and join the candlelit evening procession past its three basilicas.
Canal du Midi 154 km
A 240 kilometre canal across southern France from Toulouse towards the Mediterranean, one of the great construction works of the 17th century. Shaded by plane trees, its locks and towpaths are now the domain of slow barges, walkers and cyclists.
Basilica of Saint-Sernin 155 km
A great Romanesque basilica in Toulouse built over the tomb of Saint Saturnin, the city's first bishop. Its octagonal brick bell tower rises in tiers above a church famed for its Romanesque sculpture, long a stop on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela.
Cité de l'Espace 157 km
A space discovery park opened in 1997 on the eastern edge of Toulouse, the home of Europe's aerospace industry. Visitors walk around a full size model of an Ariane 5 rocket and a replica of the Mir space station, and there is a planetarium.
Cité de Carcassonne 201 km
A walled medieval citadel on a hill above the river Aude, with two rings of ramparts and dozens of towers. Restored in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc, who gave many towers their pointed roofs, it holds a small town of lanes, a castle and a basilica inside the walls.
Albi Cathedral 222 km
A red brick cathedral begun in 1282, after the Albigensian Crusade, and built over two hundred years; from outside it looks like a fortress. Inside, walls painted in blues and golds and an ornate carved choir screen make a lavish contrast, and it is said to be the largest brick building in the world.
Dune of Pilat 232 km
The tallest sand dune in Europe, a great ridge of sand on the Arcachon Bay about 60 kilometres south west of Bordeaux. From the top the Atlantic stretches away on one side and a pine forest on the other, and the dune creeps slowly inland year by year.
More hidden gems in Occitanie
Questions
Where is Cirque de Gavarnie?
Cirque de Gavarnie is in Gavarnie, Occitanie, France. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Pic du Midi (30 km), Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes (45 km), Canal du Midi (154 km).
How do I get the Cirque de Gavarnie stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Cirque de Gavarnie and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Occitanie volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Cirque de Gavarnie before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Occitanie volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.