Over and above its landscapes, Gavarnie- Gèdre is also a rich cultural heritage because of its development as a tourism centre, its human and agricultural history and economic development. It is a place to stroll around and discover its historic and cultural treasures, such as Madonnas, statues, flat stones and the
Mountaineers’ cemetery.…

The Heas Chapel
Rich in tales and legends, destroyed and rebuilt three times, the chapel lies in the cultural heart of this world heritage site. Open every day, free admission from 1 May to 1 November. A mass is held every Sunday at 11.00 a.m. There are two pilgrimages every year, on 15 August and 15 September, from the Barèges valley to Gavarnie.

Millaris
Innovation in Gèdre

Phone : +33 (0)5 62 92 35 25
Center of ludic, teaching and interactive discovery, Millaris is an innovative place dedicated to the Country of the Cirque of Gavarnie-Gèdre. True door of entry of the territory, it offers all the keys for a first approach.

More information

The Gavarnie church
Built by the monks of Saint-Jean de Jerusalem in the 12th century, the church
contains medieval vestiges: 15th century furniture, statues, etc. It is positioned on one of the routes leading to St-Jacques de Compostelle.

The mountaineers’ cemetery
This historic setting could not have been sited anywhere else: facing the Gavarnie corrie, a cemetery for renowned Pyrenean mountaineers who loved these mountains and fully earned the right to their final resting place..

The Gedre-dessus mills
Gèdre
Tel. +33 (0)5 62 92 35 25
These mills bear witness to an ancestral activity in harmony with the environment. Guarantors of rural and mountain-dwelling authenticity, they can be seen in Gèdre-Dessus, at Moule Dera on the Campbieil mountain stream.There are five in all belonging to different families in the village. They were used up to the 1970s and one continued to work right through to 1985. Group visitations are organised upon reservation only. For individuals, visits are organised during holidays every Tuesday and Friday at 5.30 pm.

Statue of Comte Russel
On entering the village of Gavarnie, admire the bronze statue of this famous mountaineer, born in 1834, who devoted his life to exploring the Pyrenees. He wrote movingly of the extraordinary history of Vignemale (3,298 m), the highest summit in the French Pyrenees.

Notre Dame des neiges
Placed on a rocky crag at an altitude of 1,519 m, the statue has been watching over the lives of the mountain-dwellers since 1927. It is the work of Michelet, a sculptor from Tarbes, and was transported by 50 volunteers from Gavarnie.

Hydroelectric plant
The Pragnères plant : +33 (0)5 62 92 43 12 or +33 (0)5 62 92 35 25
The works on largest hydroelectric plant in the Hautes-Pyrénées, located near Gèdre, began in 1947 and were completed in 1953. A national example and an extraordinary feat of water recuperation technology, Pragnères has 40 km of galleries, four dams including the Cap de Long dam near Néouvielle, the largest
of its kind in the Pyrenees, a production plant and two pumping stations. The plant is designed to provide peak-time electricity. Approached from Luz, it can be found on the road to Gèdre. The model exhibition hall demonstrating plant operation is open every day from 8 am to 7 pm. Free admittance (subject to the French “Vigipirate” anti-terrorist security plan).

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