So de Prous

So de Prous is set in Saligos, in the Luz-Saint-Sauveur valley, the Pays Toy, on the road to the Ardiden ski resort. The campsite lies at about 650 m altitude and some 3 km from the village of Luz-Saint-Sauveur, between the Col du Tourmalet and the Cirque de Gavarnie, with the Néouvielle reserve and the Brèche de Roland within hiking distance.

Rated 3 stars, it is a shaded family site. It offers mobile homes for 2, 4 and 6 people, seven rooms to rent, pitches for tents and caravans with water and electricity, motorhome pitches and residential pitches. GR10 hikers find a place to bivouac here.

As for opening, the website announces a welcome from 20 December to 11 November, with rentals bookable until 14 November: the annual closure therefore lasts about five weeks, from mid-November to the eve of the Christmas holidays. The campsite thus stays open throughout the Ardiden ski season. Outside the summer school holidays and weekends, the length of stay is free.

Luz-Saint-Sauveur, with its Château Sainte-Marie perched on a rocky outcrop and its fortified church known as the Templars’ church, is easy to visit from the site.

Downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding at Ardiden, the nearest resort, or at La Mongie and Gavarnie; treatments at the Thermes Luzéa.

Two washroom blocks, one of which is for disabled guests, provide hot water at no extra charge, showers, toilets and dishwashing sinks. A washing machine and a tumble dryer are coin-operated, an iron can be borrowed, and the electrical hook-ups are 2, 4 or 6 amps. A water and waste disposal area is reserved for motorhomes.

The campsite also helps out with everyday needs: bread service, a basic grocery shop, chips to order, ice creams and drinks to have on site, and it freezes water bottles free of charge. Wifi works with a paid card. A games room with table football, table tennis, a television, a terrace and a bar is a place to meet up when the weather turns, and a marquee is available for birthdays and family gatherings.

The mobile homes have a kitchen area with hobs, microwave, coffee maker, fridge and crockery, a living room with a television, a shower room with toilet and a terrace with garden furniture and a barbecue. The seven carefully decorated rooms have a television, wifi, a shower room and a shared kitchen area at no extra cost.

The pool is a summer pool: it only opens in season, as does the reception with its longer hours (8am to 12pm and 2pm to 8pm). Payment is by card, cheque or holiday vouchers.

At the campsite, summer is lively every Wednesday evening between 14 July and 15 August: concerts by local bands, followed by themed meals: spit-roast pig, tuna, bull on a spit, axoa or mussels and chips. The Saint-Michel chop fair is held under the marquee, which is also used for parties on request. Guests play petanque, meet up in the games room, and the little ones have a swing.

Hikers set off with a backpack, for full-day or half-day outings, towards the cirques of Gavarnie, Troumouse or Estaubé, then on to the Brèche de Roland, the Néouvielle or the Vignemale. Cyclists aim for the Tourmalet, Aubisque and Aspin passes, and mountain bikers have dedicated routes. Trout fishing is possible in the gaves and mountain streams.

For an adrenaline rush, the bungee jump from the Pont Napoléon, the 2 km Tyro Line zip line and its via ferrata are nearby. The Pic du Midi, reached by cable car from La Mongie, and Lourdes round off the day trips.

In winter, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding are available at Ardiden, the nearest resort, or at Barèges La Mongie and Gavarnie. The Thermes Luzéa then offer treatments to get back in shape.