14 by the water campsites, individually selected, to book directly with the establishment.
Filter by waterfront, star rating and budget to refine your selection.
A verified selection, presented on equal footing, in an order that changes with every visit.
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997 as part of the Pyrénées-Mont Perdu site, the Cirque de Gavarnie is the most visited place in the Pyrenees National Park: around 650,000 visitors a year come to the commune of Gavarnie-Gèdre. Its walls rise almost 1,700 metres in three tiers and its great waterfall drops 422 metres. The campsites in our selection are spread across the Gavarnie valley, Luz-Saint-Sauveur, Barèges, Cauterets and the Aure valley, in valleys carved by the gaves, the mountain torrents fed by the glaciers. Depending on the valley you choose, the cirque is ten minutes or more than two hours’ drive away: that is the first thing to check.
About ten minutes from the village of Gavarnie, Le Mousca is the closest campsite in the selection: 43 pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes, open from 20 June to 31 August, and two mobile homes rented all year round. There is no pool on site, but the Gèdre municipal pool and grocery are 500 metres away. It is the place to set off on foot for the cirque before the coaches arrive.
About twenty kilometres from Gavarnie, Luz-Saint-Sauveur and its hamlets hold half of the campsites. Le Hounta, in Sassis, 1 km from the centre, has 80 shady pitches, more than twenty mobile homes and a chalet, with a gave running alongside the site; this three-star campsite is open from 1 May to 30 September. In the heart of the village, Camping Toy welcomes tents, caravans and motorhomes in every season, a few steps from the shops and the tourist office. Saint Bazerque, in the Sia district, has a bar and accepts pets; from the Soumhaut you can see the Saugué plateau and, in the distance, the cirque.
In Saligos, at the entrance to Luz, Happy Pyrénées rents mobile homes for 4 to 8 people and Kaiola wooden cabins, unusual accommodation shaped like pods for two, with a pool; it closes from 15 October to 15 November. Its neighbour So de Prous, between the Col du Tourmalet and Gavarnie, offers pitches, mobile homes and rooms, also with a pool. In Esterre, Le Bergons has 70 flat, shady pitches, mobile homes, wooden chalets and canvas tents; this two-star site accepts pets and holiday vouchers, and reopens in winter during the Christmas and February school holidays. Le Bastan, also in Esterre, completes the offer on the edge of Luz.
At 1,200 metres, La Ribère, a three-star site, focuses on the mountains all year round: 16 pitches with views, seven wooden chalets for 2 to 6 people, an 85 m² gîte and two mobile homes. In winter, the chalets open from mid-December to mid-March, 3 km from the Grand Tourmalet slopes and 100 metres from the ski shuttle.
Cauterets is not on the road to Gavarnie, but the resort has its own assets, including the Pont d’Espagne. Le Péguère, 900 metres from the centre, is the largest campsite in the selection, with 150 pitches, 114 of them bare and semi-shaded, mobile homes, a chalet and gîtes; it is open from 1 April to 15 October. Le Cabaliros, a three-star site with the Esprit Parc national label, has 100 pitches, mobile homes, a converted caravan and chalets open all year. La Prairie completes the resort’s offer.
To walk to the cirque early in the morning, choose Gèdre or Luz-Saint-Sauveur. The main path from the village of Gavarnie is 7.9 km there and back with 226 metres of ascent, about 2.5 hours; the village car park is paying. With a family, look at the campsites with a pool in Luz and our campsites for family holidays; mountain evenings are cool, and an indoor pool makes a difference in June. On a small budget, bare pitches at the two-star sites are the most affordable, as in our cheap campsites. In winter, Le Bergons, La Ribère, the Cabaliros chalets and the Mousca mobile homes stay open for skiing at Luz Ardiden, the Grand Tourmalet or Gavarnie. Mind the distances: the two campsites in the selection at Aragnouet, in the Aure valley, are close to the cirque as the crow flies, but more than two hours away by road over the Col du Tourmalet, closed in winter; they better suit a stay in the Pyrenees centred on the Aure valley. To widen your search, see all our campsites in the Hautes-Pyrénées.
Beyond the cirque, the commune of Gavarnie-Gèdre has two other protected cirques, Troumouse and Estaubé, which are quieter. Keen hikers climb to the Brèche de Roland, a notch in the ridge said in legend to have been cut by the sword Durandal, below the Casque du Marboré (3,248 m). From Luz-Saint-Sauveur, the Col du Tourmalet and the Pic du Midi are within easy reach in summer, and Cauterets leads to the Pont d’Espagne and the Lac de Gaube.
Other campsites within 30 km, in neighbouring towns.
Every by the water campsite is checked against its official listing and real photos, not a marketing pitch.
We cross-check public Google ratings and reviews. An establishment below family standards doesn't make the selection.
You book directly with the campsite, no middleman or hidden markup. The price shown is the price you pay.
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| Campsite | Rating | by the river | From | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camping Le Péguère | 3 ★ | ✓ | — | 4.6/5 |
| Camping Happy Pyrenees | 2 ★ | ✓ | — | 4.6/5 |
| Camping La Ribere | 3 ★ | ✓ | — | 4.6/5 |
| Camping Le Cabaliros | 3 ★ | ✓ | — | 4.7/5 |
| Camping So de Prous | 3 ★ | ✓ | — | 4.3/5 |
Campsites marked “Partner” are Aimer Camper members and are shown first. All results match your search.
