Article Hiking

The Peak of Canigou

The Canigou Peak (Pica del Canigó) is the summit of the Canigou mountain in the Pyrenees, located in the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. Its elevation is 2,784 m, and while it is not the tallest mountain in the Pyrenees, it had been considered one for many years due to its prominence in the plains of Roussillon.

Thanks to Catalan poet Jacint Verdaguer who authored the epic poem "Canigó" in 1886, the Canigou mountain has become a symbol of unity for Catalan people. Any self-respecting Catalan considers it a civic duty to ascend the Canigou mountain at least once in a lifetime—a task that, strictly speaking, is not out of reach for most able-bodied people capable of hiking for 5-6 hours.

It is interesting to note that the Canigou summit was also called Canigou in French. However, in 2012, France officially adopted the Catalan spelling of the name, Canigó, to pay respects to the sanctity of the mountain in Catalan culture.

The bonfires lit during the night of St. John's Day (Sant Joan) across Catalonia should be lit with the flame from the Canigou summit. This "flammable" tradition, known as La Flama del Canigó, started in the kitchen of the Museum Casa Pairal in a Perpignan castle Castellet de Perpinyā in 1965.

That year, an "eternal" flame was lit there, and since then on, every June 22, the local hiking club delivers that flame to the Canigou to light a large ceremonial bonfire. On June 23, hundreds of people who had hiked up the mountain the day before light torches from the flame to then descend from the summit and relay the flame to their hometowns. By the end of the festivities, the flame in the Perpignan castle also gets an invigorating boost from the Canigou bonfire.

The shortest route to the Canigou summit is 4 km each way, taking 4 hours for the whole hike. The route lies from the basecamp of Cortalets, Refugi de Cortalets, which can accommodate 80 people and, in summer, feed them as well (usually between May 15 and October 15).

Basecamp Cortalets telephone: (+33) 04 68 96 36 19
Link to the official page of the Cortalets basecamp

4x4 taxi companies:
04 68 05 51 14 (Villaceque)
04 68 05 27 08 (Colas)
04 68 30 02 89 (Montagne et transport)

What's the best way to get to Cortalets? There are options:

1. Follow the highway N-116 from Perpignan or Puigcerdā towards Prada de Conflent, pass the village and turn towards Villerac (6.2 km, about a 12-minute drive). From there onwards, take an offroad vehicle or a 4x4 taxi along a very bad road that may be closed due to weather conditions and is guaranteed to be blocked off on June 22-23. The road leads to the parking of Refugi de Cortalets, about 23 km away. From the parking lot, it is a 15-minute hike to the base camp.

2. Another option is to continue on from Villerac towards Esquena d'Ase (12.5 km, about 42 minutes' drive). This stretch has better road conditions and no road closures. Park your car in Esquena d'Ase and hike all the way to Cortalets (about 2 hours).