Pic de Bugarach

Pic de Bugarach looms large over the Corbières though its presence really has little to do with size: at 1230 meters it is the highest peak in the Hautes Corbières but it is easily dwarfed by the summits of the mountains of the Pyrenean range which serve as the dramatic, layered backdrop to Bugarach. Nowhere offers a better view of the Pyrenees, though, making Bugarach an extremely popular climb for hikers in the region. Truth be told it’s a bit of a trek.

There are to main routes. Via the south side, called ‘voie de la fenêtre’ because you walk through a big archway in the cliff, or via col de Linas on the north side, which is the easier one. Last week we did the col de Linas route and found it be relatively easy though steep the first hour and a half or so. The last couple hundred meters were more of a challenge, especially for those with a touch of vertigo, as the top really is more of a crust than a wide plateau and you do feel a sheer drop at times. Climbing the Bugarach is not recommended on days with strong winds and, unfortunately, the Tramontane was howling when we went up - as you can see from the picture below where Sally (the hoodie) is resisting the gusts while overlooking the valley on the north side.

Now, Sally is looking in the direction of Rennes-le-chateau which some of you will be familiar with and there are indeed more strings to Bugarach’s bow than just the views. It’s got presence, it has personality and temperament. Locals even seem to be on first name with the rock and have endowed it with almost human traits. “When Bugarach has its hat on…” goes one saying, referring to the clouds that regularly lay anchor at the top.

Others ascribe qualities both magical and sinister to the mountain, which, apparently, is a geological oddity in that its top layers (135 million years) are older than bottom ones (75 million). Planes can’t fly over the mountain it is said (though we saw a glider floating overhead when we were there); it is under surveillance by the French army. François Mitterand visited several times as president, flown in by helicopter in the dead of night, as did Jules Verne; apparently Bugarach is where he found the entrance and the inspiration for A Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

One site on Bugarach recommends camping out on la montagne sacrée on a starlit night; from experience it’s guaranteed to be ‘a rich emotional experience’. Mind you, the same person also speaks of ‘strange sounds’ and ‘apparitions’ and reliving his childhood as he was ascending. Bugarach is also said to be important in connection with the events foresaid for 2012 (Nostradamus and Mayan prophesies for galactic alignment and the end of time). And did I mention the intense UFO activity reported around Bugarach? ETs, it seems, are drawn as much to this remote corner of the world as we are.