Pyreneestrip
Col du Tourmalet & Pic du Midi
The Pic du Midi seen from the Col d'Aspin (2007)
Tour de FrancePeaksNature & viewsFrance

Col du Tourmalet & Pic du Midi

A legendary col – observatory and cable car

Cycling climb

Height
2,115 m
From
Luz-Saint-Sauveur
Distance
19 km
Average gradient
7.4 %
From the 2014 guide – ThomasA legendary mountain pass. You can also walk up to the observatory or take the cable car from La Mongie on the eastern side.

The most-used col in the history of the Tour. The statue Le Géant du Tourmalet stands at the top in summer. The Pic du Midi (2 877 m) is reached by cable car from La Mongie – book ahead for a clear day, and bring a jacket.

Tour de FrancePart of stage 6 Pau – Gavarnie-Gèdre on 9 July 2026.

Ascent

Height
2,877 m
Massif
Pic du Midi
Country
Hautes-Pyrénées, France
Grade
T2 · Moderate
Days
1 day
Season
June–October
Starting point
Virage de Toue (approx. 1 944 m) on the road between Col du Tourmalet and Barèges
Elevation gain
approx. 890 hm
Time
approx. 5 h round trip

The summit is home to the observatory, built from the late 19th century onwards. In 1963 a NASA-funded telescope photographed the Moon from here ahead of the Apollo missions. Today you can take the cable car from La Mongie and even sleep on the summit.

How to get up – the normal route step by step

  1. From the hairpin up through the pastures to Lac d'Oncet.
  2. On up the zigzags to Col de Sencours and the final stretch to the observatory.
  3. Take the cable car down to La Mongie if your legs have had enough – check the times in advance.
SafetyAn easy mountain hike, but it gets cold and windy on the summit.

Other routes up

The cable car from La Mongie takes about 15 minutes to the top.

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42.9086° N, 0.1453° E

Road trips passing here

Nearby

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