Cirque de Troumouse, Glacial cirque in Gavarnie-Gèdre, France.
Cirque de Troumouse is a glacial cirque in the Pyrenees with towering rock walls forming a vast natural amphitheater. The valley floor spreads flat across the bottom, enclosed by high mountains on all sides.
The valley formed millions of years ago when glaciers carved through the rocks and hammered the stone into this distinctive shape. This geological work by ice created the steep walls and wide valley floor that exist today.
The name comes from the shepherds who have long driven their herds to the summer pastures here. Today you can still see flocks and cattle using the slopes, shaping the daily rhythm of the place.
You can reach this place best by car in summer via the road to Plateau du Maillet, where several hiking trails start. Pay attention to the season since in winter the road is often not passable.
This place is one of the largest cirques in this mountain region and hosts hundreds of grazing animals during the warm months. This concentration of herds makes it a living place with an intense shepherding culture that you find almost nowhere else.
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