Sentiers de St-Jacques via le Puy - Moissac to Roncevaux GR65

Continuation and end of the Puy road, through Quercy, Béarn and Basque Country. More than 15 days of hiking.

Chemins de St- Jacques: Moissac - Roncevaux (Roncesvalles), FFRP topoguide Ref. no. 653, covering the last, 345-km long section of the Way of St. James in France along the GR65 between Le Puy-en-Velay to the Spanish border. Current edition of this title was published in may 2017.

The last section of via Podiensis, which crosses from east to west the great Gascony, offers the hiker a true mosaic of colors and territories.

After Moissac, here is the green Lomagne, land of white garlic and Romanesque churches. Then comes the Gers, with asymmetric hills that alternately beautiful squares of vines, sunflowers or corn. It is tempting to stop frequently during this Gersoise stage. In Lectoure, Eauze and Condom, for example, where the biggest armagnacs are produced.

Past Nogaro, the transition with the Landes is hardly guessed. Slowly, the path seems to melt into the forest, initially made up of black oaks and chestnut trees then maritime pines. Finally, here is the Béarn and the Basque Country, points of convergence of all the jacquaires routes coming from the North and the East. The Pyrenees are not far, the climb to Roncesvalles starting out of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

ABOUT THE FFRP (Fédération française de la randonnée pédestre) TOPOGUIDES: published in a handy A5 paperback format, the guides are the best companions for hiking along the GR routes, France’s extensive network of long-distance footpaths. Each topo-guide covers either a whole route or a part of a longer path (e.g. four titles for the GR 10 along the Pyrenees).

The guides have COLOUR extracts from IGN''s 1:50,000 or 1:25,000 topographic survey mapping overprinted with the route, with important points cross-referenced to the accompanying text placed on the adjoining page. The text is in French, but a large amount of information is conveyed by symbols (different types of accommodation, food shops, public transport links, etc). An important feature of each guide is a summary table showing what facilities can be found at each stage of the route, supported by an extensive “info practiques” section with more specific information and contact details for recommended accommodation, tourist offices, etc. The guides are published on high quality paper and include descriptions of the most interesting aspects of the surrounding region: historical and cultural sites, local specialties, fauna and flora, etc, all illustrated with colour photos.

To see other titles published by the FFRP for long-distance hiking routes please click on the series link.