Suzie the groundhog wanted to go for a walk, but after several hours she still hasn’t returned! Look for the mystery word using the clues you’ve collected on your walk and find out where Suzie has hidden…
The marmot’s walk is a game you can find at the Tourist Office reception desk. It’s a fun way to visit Cauterets.
Further information is available below.
The vignemale
It is the highest peak in the French Pyrenees, measuring 3,298m – more than 10 times the Eiffel Tower!
If you go hiking with your parents, you’ll see it – it’s very close to Cauterets. You can climb to the very top, but it’s a tough hike! Up there, the temperature is around 15° cooler than in Cauterets, and there’s less oxygen. So you walk more slowly and quickly run out of breath.
The Vignemale hike is long, so it’s best to do it in two days. In the middle of the route, you can stop and rest in refuges.
If you’re still too young to climb it…keep this goal in mind and one day we may meet at the top of the Vignemale…
the berlingots of cauterets
Have you ever tasted these little multicoloured sweets? They have a whole history and are a real emblem for the village!
For a very long time, Cauterets has been welcoming people with respiratory problems, and the natural hot thermal water that flows here helps to relieve and cure them. You need to drink and breathe this water, as it is very rich in sulphur.
The problem is that sulphur tastes like rotten eggs and smells bad. To get rid of its unpleasant taste, the doctors gave the patients these little berlingots.
The recipe is very simple: sugar, natural flavourings and water… Easy! But despite the simplicity of the recipe, it’s a very difficult sweet to make.
I’m not allowed to eat them, but I bet you’ve already got a favourite!
the bearded vulture
As a marmot, this great mountain bird of prey scares me. The Bearded Vulture can be 3m long with its wings spread… Can you believe it? That’s almost 3x your size!
Its nickname is the ” bone breaker ” because to feed, it grabs a bone from a carcass, takes off and then, once very high, drops the bone on the rocks so that it breaks… All it has to do is eat the marrow inside… Bon appetit!
This is a very rare bird of prey, so you’ll need to pay close attention and get out your binoculars because there are only 4 in the Cauterets area.
It’s easy to recognise… It has a white body and a triangular (or diamond-shaped) tail. Look towards the cliffs, you’ll have a better chance of spotting it, but be careful not to confuse it with a vulture!
the isard
It’s the symbol of Cauterets. If you go to the Pont d’Espagneor go hiking in the mountains, take a good look around, you’re bound to see some.
In the Pyrenees it’s called an isard, but in the Alps it’s called a chamois. On sunny slopes, if you see a whole group, they are probably females with their young. The males are usually alone!
Agile and fast, isards are the best mountaineers in the Pyrenees, able to climb at top speed on slopes where you wouldn’t put a toe.
marguerite de navarre
Marguerite was the sister of King François I of France, and also the grandmother of Henry 4 in the 1500s.
She was one of the first ” famous ” people to come and enjoy the benefits of Cauterets’ thermal waters.
A few years later, all the bourgeoisie, writers and artists came together to stay in the village of Cauterets. Do you know these artists? Victor Hugo, Georges Sand, Chateaubriand, Bernadette Soubirous, Sarah Bernhardt, Maurice Chevalier, Léon Blum…
They’ve all set foot where you are right now.
Marmot walk itinerary
Thematics
