Camurac: skiing in Cathar country, the highest village in the Aude

The Aude usually calls to mind Mediterranean beaches and the vineyards of the Corbieres, yet in its far south-western corner, on the high plateau of the Pays de Sault, the department hides a genuine mountain resort. Camurac, a village of little more than a hundred people at around 1,200 metres, is the highest commune in the Aude and home to its only ski station.

A small resort with big views

The ski area, set between about 1,500 and 1,800 metres beneath the crests of the Saint-Barthelemy and the 2,348-metre Soularac, offers eleven alpine runs served by four lifts, a nordic area for cross-country skiing and snowshoe trails, with a ski school and sledging slope for families. In summer the lifts give way to a bike park, paragliding and footpaths through beech and fir forest, part of a year-round, four-season approach.

Cathar country

Most of the pistes actually lie across the border in Montaillou, the Ariege village whose medieval inhabitants, interrogated by the Inquisition, became famous through one of the great books of French history. All around, the castles of Montsegur and the gorges of the upper Aude recall the dramatic story of the Cathars.

Getting there

Camurac lies on the Pays de Sault plateau near Belcaire, reached by mountain roads from Quillan or from Ax-les-Thermes, in the Pyrenees of the upper Aude.