Larrun
905 m
France, Spain
Also known as La Rhune, Larrún, +2Also known as
La Rhune · Larrún · Larhun · Ларрун
- Elevation
- 905 m
- Prominence
- 670 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- Apr–Jun
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Approximate line — not for navigation
An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.
Why? 2 check notes
- Col de Saint-Ignace → Les Trois Fontaines: closed above ~171 m (OSM access/foot=no on way 1280706598)
- Col de Saint-Ignace → Les Trois Fontaines: corridor (detour; 60 m of gaps, 4.0 km)
The shortest walk from the French side: about 740 m of ascent from the rack-railway station at the Col de Saint-Ignace (169 m) between Ascain and Sare, through woods and over open grazing ground at Les Trois Fontaines, then a steep, zigzagging final climb to the summit antennas, ventas and border. About 2½ hours up, 2 hours down.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 5.6 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +739 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 905 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 3h 10m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 2h 11m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Start from the lower station of the Train de la Rhune at the Col de Saint-Ignace (169 m) on the D4 between Ascain and Sare, where there is a large car park. The path leaves from the back left of the car park past a picnic area, crosses the railway and passes left of the train sheds, then heads south-west along a pine wood, up some built steps and past an old star-shaped redoubt. A flat stony track or a smaller path along the crest leads on to the stream and open pastures of Les Trois Fontaines, roughly halfway, where pottoks (Basque ponies), sheep and cows graze and the GR10 and the path from Sare join. At the fork after the stream go left through a wood, then follow the zigzags up the steep final slope to the summit (905 m). The upper part is the hardest: several paths are possible, the easier one bearing left along a vague ridge. The summit is crowded and built up, with a TV relay, the upper railway station, a restaurant and, on the Spanish side of the border, the ventas selling tax-cheaper goods; on clear days the view runs along the coast from San Sebastián to Biarritz and Bayonne and into the Basque Pyrenees. Descend the same way, or ride the train down with a descent-only ticket bought at the summit, subject to space (in season, queues of an hour or more are reported). There is no water or shelter on the way; it can be hot in summer, and fog comes in quickly off the Atlantic.
Start
Col de Saint-Ignace171 m
- Train de la Rhune rack railway (Col de Saint-Ignace – summit, about 35 minutes; daily 28 March – 1 November in 2026); descent-only tickets sold at the summit subject to space
- OSM maps a bus stop at the Col de Saint-Ignace; check current Basque Coast bus services from Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Ascain.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Col de Saint-Ignace → Larrun | 5.6 | 739 | 7 | 3h 10m |
Waypoints
- Station: Col de Saint-Ignace171 m
Lower station of the Train de la Rhune; large car park
- Feature: Les Trois Fontaines544 m
Pastures roughly halfway; GR10 and the path from Sare join here
- Summit: Larrun905 m
Key Passages
- Les Trois Fontaines pastures
- Steep zigzags of the final slope
Equipment
0/4 packedDownloads
Route confidence 75%Overview
La Rhune (Larrun, 905 m), the emblematic mountain of the French Basque Country: a steep grassy hill on the France–Spain border above Sare and Ascain, climbed by a 740 m walk or a 1924 rack railway, with views along the coast from San Sebastián to Bayonne.
Larrun, better known in French as La Rhune, is the last significant summit of the Pyrenees before the Atlantic, rising about 10 km from the sea between Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Ascain and Sare. The France–Spain border runs over the top, which is also the old boundary between Labourd and Navarre. Its Basque name means 'place of pastures', and its slopes are still grazed by pottoks (Basque ponies), manech sheep and cattle.
The summit is far from wild. A TV and radio relay, the upper station of the rack railway, a restaurant and, on the Spanish side, a cluster of ventas selling cheaper tobacco and drink crowd the top, and in summer the train brings thousands of visitors a day. The reason to walk up is the view: the whole Basque coast from San Sebastián to Bayonne and the Landes, and inland over the green Basque hills to the higher Pyrenees.
The walk from the Col de Saint-Ignace is short but steep, about 740 m of ascent with no technical difficulty. Longer routes start from Sare, Ascain, the Col de Lizuniaga or the Venta Yasola on the Spanish side, and the GR10 crosses the flank of the mountain.
Climbing Notes
Any reasonably fit walker can do it: about 740 m of ascent, 2½ hours up and 2 hours down from the Col de Saint-Ignace, on a well-trodden path that is steep in its upper part. Carry water, as there is none on the way, and start early in summer to avoid the heat and the crowds.
A popular option is to walk up and take the train down, but descent-only tickets are sold only at the summit and depend on space, and queues of an hour or more are reported in high season. The train runs daily from late March to early November (28 March – 1 November in 2026).
The weather changes quickly here: fog and rain come in off the Atlantic, and in winter the top can briefly carry snow. In poor visibility the open upper slopes have many intersecting paths; stay on the main one.
History
The rack railway from the Col de Saint-Ignace has run since 1924. Excursions to the summit had become fashionable in the 19th century through Empress Eugénie, who stayed in Biarritz. In the early 17th century the magistrate Pierre de Lancre claimed that witches' sabbaths (akelarre) were held on the summit, and the mountain was named in the 1609 witch trials. The border ventas began as farms in the late 19th century and became relays for smuggling, peaking in the 1920s and 1930s. Cromlechs, tumuli and dolmens on the massif show much older human presence.
Season
Best Apr–Jun- January: Good
- February: Good
- March: Good
- April: Best (best window)
- May: Best (best window)
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Good
- August: Good
- September: Best
- October: Best
- November: Good
- December: Good
- Jan
- Quiet; train not running; occasional snow or ice near the top
- Feb
- Quiet; train not running; wet and muddy
- Mar
- Train resumes at the end of March (28 March in 2026)
- Apr
- Mild; good visibility between showers
- May
- Good walking conditions
- Jun
- Good walking conditions; busier
- Jul
- Hot and very crowded; long train queues
- Aug
- Hot and very crowded; long train queues
- Sep
- Fewer people, often clear
- Oct
- Clear autumn days; train until early November
- Nov
- Train stops at the start of November; wet weather
- Dec
- Quiet; train not running
Access & Permits
- Fees
- Train de la Rhune (2026): EUR 26 adult return, EUR 18 child (4–12); descent-only EUR 23.50 adult, EUR 15 child, sold only at the summit subject to availability; card only at the summit
- Rules
- The summit is on the France–Spain border; no border formalities within the Schengen area
- Livestock graze freely on the slopes: keep dogs under control and close gates
- Getting There
Sare and Ascain; Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Biarritz (BIQ); San Sebastián (EAS)
- Car: D4 from Ascain or Sare to the Col de Saint-Ignace (169 m), large car park at the railway station
- Rack railway: Train de la Rhune from the Col de Saint-Ignace to the summit, about 35 minutes each way
- Bus: a bus stop is mapped at the Col de Saint-Ignace; check current coast and inland bus services from Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Hazards
- Weather