Les Tours de Cabrens (The towers of Cabrens)
A nice walk starting in a village named Serralongue which is located 45 minutes drive from Ceret, going up (sometimes quiet steep) to a medieval watch tower which still stand fully built. Its possible to ask in a coffee shop in Serralongue (Marked in the map) for the keys to enter and climb to the rooftop of the tower itself, from there you can watch stunning views of the Pyrenees and the mighty Canigou ridge.
The trail signed with yellow marks but unfortunately not very consistent.
On the way up the whole trail is going.... up. About two thirds is a moderate climb but the last part is quiet steep. You have two option to go up and down A and B (on the adjacent Photo with the map).
Option A is somewhat more moderate and the trail is much more stable than option B.
In the top where tower 1 is located there are few picnic tables and benches under nice shaded pine trees.
Most of the trails is under the trees and not exposed to the sun.
There are additional towers (5 in total) but we didn't bother to go further-up after the first one.
Its about 2.5 hours going up for good walkers and about 1.5 hours going down, and will take more time for moderate or slow walkers. Anyway the timing posted in the entrance to the trail is for runners and isn't a reality (at least for the best of our judgment)
Technicalities:
Total distance: 11 km
Elevation: 603 meter
Total time (average): 5 to 6 hours from Serralongue parking to tower number 1 and back including picnic rest.
Parking: HERE
Trail GPS file to download: HERE
Map: See below
Water: Bring with you. In rainy season there is a fountain in the entrance to Serralongue, where you can fill your bottles (but don't count on it)
