Col du Soulor

A grand Pyrenean pass whose cliff-cut balcony toward the Aubisque, the Cirque du Litor, is one of the most dramatic roads in the range.

The D918 climbs from Argeles-Gazost to the 1474 metre Col du Soulor through green pastoral foothills, but the showpiece is the continuation west toward the Col d'Aubisque. There the road is literally cut into the cliff face across the Cirque du Litor, a hanging balcony with the valley dropping away below and almost nothing between the tarmac and the void. The Soulor and Aubisque have been Tour de France territory since 1910 and the pair is among the most revered crossings in the Pyrenees. The climb itself is steady rather than savage, but the exposure on the Litor balcony is real. Open roughly May to October. Mind the unbarriered drops on the cliff section, free-roaming livestock and cattle on the open pastures, and lingering snow or fog that can shroud the high balcony without warning.