Where to begin our journey in the French Pyrénées Orientales (Eastern side of the mountain chain)?
Well after arriving to Perpignan train station, commuting to the airport located approximately 30 minutes from there and picking up our rental car, here we go directly heading to Tautavel to hike the mountains up to the Torre del Far.
Although Tautavel is a small 870-inhabitant village mostly known for its famous Prehistory Museum, we didn’t visit this one and preferred enjoying the nature and the emblematic views the hike offers. The beginning of the path can be accessed from Vingrau wine cooperative (indicated with a few signs in the village) and is marked with yellow tags along the way. All things considered, I would not recommend this hike when the wind is strong or when temperatures are too high because some steps are quite slippery and there is not much place to take cover from the sun. Also the hike would take approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours for the roundtrip to the village depending on the pace you choose and the time you want to spend on top of course!
The hike starts following the road upfront and then the trail which drastically goes up during approximately 20 to 30 minutes. At some point during the climb you’ll see the beautiful ruins of Tautavel castle. Although we did not have much time because we were hiking at the end of the day, one can head in the right direction towards the castle before continuing on the initial tracks, to have better views of the castle, the mountains and even discover a hidden cave some say.
Moving on with the initial path, you will come across cliffs, a stone quarry and pass a couple of more tricky steps with views over the Torre as you’re getting closer, escalating a 4-step small wall and walking along the mountain ridge, both with the help of a lifeline (rope) and railings.
When arrived to the Torre del Far, wind’s blowing and the views over the Mediterranean sea, the Canigo mountains and the village are a sweet reward for the effort put in! A 360° panorama that I could admire for hours. We went there in August and were alone on top (we only crossed a couple of hikers along the way) so there is the perfect setting we were waiting for on our first day! After a relaxing pause and lots of photographs taken ‘cause the views are just worth it, the way back to the village goes through the same path (so there’s your chance to take that path to the castle ruins on the way back if you haven’t already).
