Cirque de Lescun, le Belvédère
The Cirque de Lescun in the Vallée d'Aspe is a very popular site for walking and climbing in the Bearnaise Pyrenees with its well-known mountains like Ansabère, Pic d'Anie, Orgues de Camplong and many others. It is sometimes referred to as the « Dolomites of the Pyrenees ». Around Lescun the landscape of beautiful wooded countryside is bordered by a crown of limestone peaks, a paradise for walking, skiing and snowshoe trekking.
Everything within the cirque bears the mark of pastoralism : paths, stone walls, barns which are known as « bordes » or « cayolars ».
The typical Aspois village of Lescun at 900m altitude looks out onto the stunning cirque of mountains. Slate roofs, narrow streets lined with stone cottage with wooden doors, wash pools, a drinking trough. Heritage and mountain architecture fans will love exploring this village which is home to a few hundred people (over 1,000 a century ago…). In the village cafés you can hear the story of the Battle of Lescun, when the crafty people of Lescun outwitted the Spanish army.
