If you only have time to visit one of the Cathar castles, then your best bet is Château de Peyrepertuse
(daily: April-June & Sept 10am-7pm; July & Aug 9am-8pm;
Nov-March 10am-6pm; €3.05), not only for its unbeatable site and
stunning views, but also because the complex is unusually well
preserved. The access road starts in Duilhac
or, alternatively, you can walk up from Rouffiac village, on the north
side, by the GR36; in summer it's a tough, hot climb that takes the
best part of an hour. But either way the effort is rewarded, for
Peyrepertuse is one of the most awe-inspiring castles anywhere in
Europe, clinging to the crest of a long, wickedly jagged spine of rock
on the top of a mountain ridge, surrounded by sheer drops of hundreds
of metres.
You enter on the north side through thickets of
boxwood. The heaviest fortifications enclose the lower eastern end of
the ridge, with a keep and barbican controlling the main gate. The
castle is much larger than the others despite its precarious hold on
the earth, with extensive buildings inside the outer wall, culminating
in a keep and tower shutting off the highest point of the ridge, where
such a pit of air opens at your feet that no artificial defence is
necessary.
Surprisingly, the castle was
taken by the French without much difficulty in 1240, and most of the
existing fortifications were built after that. Whatever you do, don't
go up in a thunderstorm; there can be some fierce ones in summer, and
the ridge brings down the lightning as surely as a high-tension cable.
If you need to stay the night, head for ROUFFIAC . The hotel here, the Auberge de Peyrepertuse
(tel 04.68.45.40.40; €24-34; closed late Dec to mid-Jan), also has
dormitory accommodation (under €24), plus a restaurant (about €15.25).
There are bus services on Wednesday and Saturday to
St-Paul-de-Fenouillet on the main Perpignan D117 road, returning at
11am. Walkers can also call on the services of Balade Cathare (tel
04.68.45.05.10), based in Rouffiac, which runs a minibus shuttling
people and bags around the area; it helps if you can give them as much
notice as possible.
Moving on from Peyrepertuse, by car or by the GR36, you can return to St-Paul-de-Fenouillet through the narrow Gorges de Galamus , and in many places you can get down to the river for a swim. On the way you pass the eagle's-nest Hermitage St-Antoine , built into the side of the ravine.
Alternatively, the drive eastwards offers more castles, including Padern and the especially fine Aguilar
, near Tuchan, which overlooks the hills and vales of the Côtes de
Roussillon-Villages wine area, with magnificent views from the twisty
climbing roads. From here you have the possibility of heading either
north towards Narbonne or south through Tautavel to Perpignan.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides.
All rights reserved.The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.
