Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Fort du Portalet

Looking back to Fort du Portalet (see previous upload). Note the small turrets on the right side. The rectangular hole is as well part of the fortifications, the whole cliff is pierced with holes and caves. The valley of the Gave d’Aspe is a narrow gorge here. Half an hour later, I reached Urdos.

South of Borce, the valley of the Gave d’Aspe is so narrow, that the GR653 (aka "Via Tolosana") merges onto the N134. Traffic is pretty heavy. Lots of trucks use this road, so I had to be cautious. Overlooking the valley is the "Fort du Portalet", a strong fortification. The construction started in 1842 under the orders of Louis Philippe, but it took upto 1870 to complete the fort. During WWII the Vichy regime interned political prisoners here. Léon Blum, Georges Mandel and other politicians were imprisoned in Fort du Portalet.