The Ariège MTB Crossing - Stage 01: Ax-les-Thermes to the Refuge du Chioula

To see:

Ax-les-Thermes, water and mountain town
A first capture attributed to the pre-Roman era traces back the spa tradition of Ax-les-Thermes to the roots of our civilization. In 1260, the Count of Foix Roger IV had a leper hospital and the Ladres basin, fed by sulfurous waters, constructed there. However, the waters were used therapeutically only from the late 16th century.
The first thermal establishment built was the Couloubret, in 1780. It gets its name from the snake that once haunted the hot springs of the region. This chilly reptile used to slip through the pipes right into the spa cabins! Three thermal establishments currently operate, allowing guests to enjoy the benefits of the warmest waters in the Pyrenees (78°C) for the treatment of rheumatological and respiratory conditions, or simply for wellness.
In addition to thermalism, the mountain environment of Ax-les-Thermes and its surrounding valleys has gradually become the scene of various outdoor leisure and nature discovery activities: hiking, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, climbing… The economy of the "Vallées d'Ax" is now closely linked to tourism.

The cultivated terraces
Whether still very visible, as on the sunny side of the upper Ariège valley, or recolonized over the years by the forest, the cultivated terraces are omnipresent on all the slopes of the montane level.

Tracing the Cathars, the chemin des Bonshommes
The chemin des Bonshommes takes you back to the Middle Ages, in the footsteps of the last Cathars hunted by the Inquisition. You cross the same passes as these freedom-loving men and women. Today, as a symbol of cross-border cooperation between Ariège and Catalonia, it offers an impressive mosaic of landscapes.