It is a distinctive giant wedge in the heart of the Couserans region of the Ariège, yet the 1,903 m peak of Mt Béas is strangely overlooked as a walking destination – it shouldn’t be!

South of Massat, in the last remnants of the Pyrenean foothills, the pyramidal giant silhouette of Mont Béas towers above this scenic corner of the Ariège.

It overlooks the Étang de Lers, a popular lakeside stop with a good restaurant, picnicking opportunities and fishing. The road is popular with cyclists who come to follow in the hallowed footsteps of the Tour De France riders: from the Étang, a left turn leads to the Port de Lers at 1,512 m, whilst a right will climb to the Col d’Agnes at 1,570 m.

It is on the Col d’Agnes road where you will find the starting point for this walk, tucked into a bend by a stream with parking for only about 3 cars – but then it is almost guaranteed that you will have no one for company.

The walk is not advertised in the local tourism offices nor with official signage: it remains a hidden gem and for relatively little effort, rewards with superb 360° views.

From the road, one climbs up through the clearing ahead, to the left bank of the stream. As one nears it’s end under the cliffs, a trail leads into the trees to your right. It ducks under an electric fence then traverses the slopes through a mixture of trees and clearings.

A rocky outcrop near the end of the treeline is a good place to catch your breath and get the first view from the cliffs to the valley below. From there, there is no shade as one climbs, first to the false summit of Mont Béas and then down a little saddle and up again to reach the final summit.

The climb is steep and a little ‘aérien‘ in places as it hugs the ridge line which falls away precipitously to the west. Nevertheless, there is an obvious path and none of the terrain would challenge the average walker. The top should be obtained easily in a couple of hours and it is worth taking a picnic and lingering to enjoy the view.

There is plenty of space and outcrops to sit on. Recently a communications shelter has been erected, rather spoiling the silhouette of the mountain top, although it does provide some shade and a seat on a hot day.

The views are superb in every direction: to the north over the ridge line, the last bastion before the lowlands towards Toulouse. To the east: the Étang de Lers and it’s jumbled hills, grazed by summer cows with lyrical bells around their necks. To the south, over the Col d’Agnes, the distant jagged and silvery peaks of the high Pyrenees. To the west: the deep Ariègois valleys where bears are found, another successful if rather more contentious reintroduction.

One word of warning: the clouds do move in quickly so it is best to ascend on a day with clear skies. I have climbed it 3 times and only on the 3rd did I have uninterrupted clear views. However, my first ascent in what turned into thick mist, did reward with some superb bouquetin sightings.

These mountain ibex were reintroduced in 2014 and can frequently be seen on the slopes of Mont Béas although they are quite shy: it is worth taking binoculars.

The return retraces ones steps along the crest – the views are even better going down!