Hautes-Pyrenees: Lourdes, Gavarnie, and the Tourmalet
Hautes-Pyrenees contains the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, whose observatory at 2,877 metres has been operating since the 1870s and now welcomes visitors for stargazing. Lourdes, the world's most visited Catholic pilgrimage site after the Vatican, draws six million visitors annually following Bernadette Soubirous's reported visions in 1858. Tarbes, the prefecture, is a garrison town.
The Cirque de Gavarnie, a massive natural amphitheatre in the high Pyrenees, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the source of one of Europe's tallest waterfalls (423 metres). Cauterets and Bareges are thermal and ski towns. The Col du Tourmalet, the most-climbed mountain pass in Tour de France history, crosses through the department. The population is about 231,000.
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Hautes-Pyrenees contains the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, whose observatory at 2,877 metres has been operating since the 1870s and now welcomes visitors for stargazing. Lourdes, the world's most visited Catholic pilgrimage site after the Vatican, draws six million visitors annually following Bernadette Soubirous's reported visions in 1858. Tarbes, the prefecture, is a garrison town.
The Cirque de Gavarnie, a massive natural amphitheatre in the high Pyrenees, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the source of one of Europe's tallest waterfalls (423 metres). Cauterets and Bareges are thermal and ski towns. The Col du Tourmalet, the most-climbed mountain pass in Tour de France history, crosses through the department. The population is about 231,000.
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