Walkers have a choice from 25 circuits and 10 linear trails (ranging from 5 to 40 km) covering the length and breadth of the gently rolling Razès countryside. A Walking for Wellbeing holiday is about you choosing your own routes (for distance and difficulty) and walking at your own pace so you can be sure to find your natural rhythm and inner harmony.
For walkers seeking to find greater balance of mind, body and soul, you may choose to complement your walks with sessions designed to help you re-connect with nature, explore the symbology of nature, or even try out some walking meditations.
Best suited for individuals, couples or small groups (max 10), Walking for Wellbeing holidays are about making the walking choices that suit you and your ideas of well-ness and well-being.
Accommodation in the Razès
There are three gîtes at the Razès – Soujeole, Corbières and La Cour du Blé. Soujeole and Corbières are suitable for singles or couples; La Cour du Blé can accommodate a further 2 to 4 people. Each has its own private entrance, parking, fully equipped kitchen, dining and lounge areas, double bedroom(s) and bath or shower room. Each gîte individually offers privacy and has its own place and space, and yet, all three can be booked together to accommodate for larger groups travelling together.
Each gîte has a double bedroom, bath or shower room, well equipped kitchen, dining and lounge area with TV, DVD and CD player. Full linen and towels are provided at no extra charge. A wide library of books, music and films is also available. The gîtes have heating for those who prefer to sojourn outside the summer months.
Our extensive range of detailed road and walking maps are kept in the grange. A meditation and yoga room is available for use and instruction is optional.
The grange is a great place to meet, eat and get together, offering respite from the summer sun or snug comfort from the wood burner in winter. There are cooking & BBQ facilities here, table-tennis and darts, boules and board games and a washing machine. There are three secluded gardens perfect for outdoor dining or relaxation.
Jo & Bob live in the adjoining property and are only too happy to help with any queries you may have.
If you are hiring a car and wish to explore the local area, your hosts are very happy to give recommendations and make reservations on your behalf. If you’ve already made your own plans or simply don’t want to make any, then you’ll be left tranquil in your own peace and space. If you don’t want to hire a car, we can organise trips to the local shops, markets and castles.
Walking for Well-being in the Razès
The Razès is a canton (rural area) in the Aude département of the Languedoc Roussillon region and is about 90 km inland of the French Mediterranean coast and 90 km north of the Pyrenees. Rich in its Occitan heritage, the clocher-mur style churches centred in many rural villages can be seen from the surrounding hill and vantage points.
The Razès is famed for its birds of prey and wild orchids as well as its beautiful, rolling landscape decorated with hills and dales, valleys and peaks, rivers and streams. The Razès generally offers easy to moderate terrain.
Depending on the time of year, walkers will typically pass alongside vineyards and fields of sunflower, poppies or barley and over rocky garrigue (scrub) outcrops, through country lanes and woods, past farms and crop fields, hamlets and villages.
Each Walking for Wellbeing holiday affords its own spectacular views of the Malepère Massif and the Corbières region to the East, the spectacular Pyrenees to the South and the Montagne Noire in the Minervois to the North.
Jo will give a full briefing prior to each walking day and answer any questions you may have about your chosen route, its distance and difficulty. If you wish to include some walking meditations and/or re-connecting with nature trails, simply ask for more details at the time of booking.
The majority of the walks (excepting the Cathar Castle walks) start from your very doorstep at the Razès Gîtes. Jo leads all the guided walks but should you wish to self-guide, detailed maps and route guides are available.
Walking for Wellbeing walking holiday itinerary
Below is a selection of example walks. Please contact the holiday provider for a personalised itinerary.
Example walks
Day One – Arrival, welcome, drinks and dinner An afternoon stroll around the local Razès countryside if flight schedules permit.
Day Two – Day Seven Example Walks (from over 30 to choose from)
Le Lac de la Pène & le Bois d’en Bas (5, 7 or 12 kms) – Starting from your Razès gîte, this is a short and easy ramble over gently rolling terrain, down country lanes, old railway tracks and through scarcely trodden woodland trails of pine and oak to emerge at the local lake of la Pène – a great stopping place for a picnic, meditation or a leisurely wander through the surrounding woods. You can be sure of the sweet singing of the birds and insects to accompany you along the way. Extended versions take you deeper into the heart of the pine-scented whispering woods closer to the deer and wild boar.
Le Sentier des Crêtes d’Hounoux (5, 12 or 17.5 km circuit) – This walk takes you across country lanes, past vineyards climbing up to a ridge for breath-taking views of the snow-clad Pyrenees followed by gently rolling trails up and down through garrigue (scrub land), past a myriad of wild lavender, thyme and juniper, fields of horses and farm yards. This walk also offers great views of the Montagne Noire, the whole of the Razès domain, the Malepère Massif and Corbières off into the east.
La GR7 (Grande Randonnée) to Mirepoix (18 km 1-way or 36 km full circuit) – The trail leads you to the GR7, walking parallel to the Pyrenees, following part of the age-old pilgrim’s route, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. We are not suggesting you go quite that far, but just enjoy the diversity of flora surrounding the peaceful GR7 track as you pass ponds and hamlets, farmyards and garrigue with rolling plains stretching up to the Pyrenees on your left. The medieval town of Mirepoix offers pplenty of places for a drink or lunch or to the cathedral.
Cathare Trails to Montségur & Roquefixade (8 or 20 kms) – You may want to follow the Sentier des Tisserands (20 km) which is a circuitous loop leading up and down the Cols surrounding Montségur, following the soul-filling Cathar trails through centuries-old forests which simply ooze with tranquility and well-being. Including the ascent of the château of Montségur itself, a tough and physically demanding trail but very rewarding in terms of opportunity to see, hear and smell the ever-changing flora and fauna in beautiful and vibrant valleys and mountains, richly imbued with both history and intrigue.
Day Eight – Breakfast and departure. A possible short walk around the Razès if flight schedules permit.
Dates and Availability
Walking for Well-being offers guided and self-guided walking holidays based from the Razès Gîtes are available all-year round – come in the season that best suits you!
You can choose whether you want to come for 7 or 5 days, a long weekend or a month if it suits! You choose how long you wish to stay for and on which days of the week you plan to arrive and depart.
The number of walks you do is entirely up to you. If you want to walk every day, simply choose your circuits and you will be guided by Jo or self-guided if you prefer. If you want to walk every other day and have a rest day in between, the tranquil gardens offer you a beautiful space within which to relax and unwind.
Please contact the holiday provider, through the contact form, for more information.
Additional information
Price of this walking holiday
- Self-catering from €195 per person for 8 days
- B&B from €250 per person for 8 days
- Half-board from €355 per person for 8 days
- Full-board from €455 per person for 8 days (includes a picnic or buffet lunch)
Extras
- Discounts for single walkers apply!
- Airport transfers to and from Carcassonne and Toulouse are available.
- Walks around and visits to the Cathar castles are guided walk options.
- Picnic lunch boxes can be arranged.
Please contact the holiday provider, through the contact form below, for more information.
