UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2026
Out for the day : Walk the Dolmens
with Tim and Chris Parker
What you need to know before you go
A circular walk of about 12 kilometres exploring the group of dolmens above the pretty village of St Michel de Llotes. Allow 4½ hours.
There is around 450m of ascent, but both the beginning and end sections are on DFCI forest roads, making for a relatively gradual ascent and descent.
The sections of footpath in the middle are through shady cork-oak woodland and offer excellent views across the Ribéral valley towards the mountains.
Walking boots essential and poles recommended.
Take plenty of water and use sun protection — hat and sunscreen.
Before setting off, check the current local wildfire risk and access restrictions, particularly during the summer months.
What is a dolmen?
A dolmen is a prehistoric megalithic monument, generally consisting of large upright stones supporting one or more horizontal slabs.
These ancient constructions are particularly common in parts of Britain, France and the Iberian Peninsula. They are generally thought to have been associated with burials, although exactly how they were used and what the people who built them believed is still the subject of archaeological debate.
The dolmens around St Michel de Llotes are a fascinating reminder that people were building substantial stone monuments in this landscape thousands of years ago.
Access
Map: IGN 1:25,000 Thuir / Ille-sur-Têt, 2448 OT.
Take the D2 to St Michel de Llotes from the centre of Ille-sur-Têt.
There is parking near the Mairie, with further parking just beyond it on the other side of the small park with picnic tables. Toilets are available near the mairie.
Start of walk
As you set off, notice the wonderful collection of metal animal sculptures at the entrance to the car parks.
Turn right out of the car park, pass the former Musée de l’Agriculture Catalane and turn left over the bridge, in the direction of Caixas.
After about 200m, on a bend, take the DFCI piste on the left.
Musée de l’Agriculture Catalane
The former agricultural museum is a useful landmark at the beginning of the walk, but don’t plan your visit around it: the museum has been closed for many years. It once housed a collection of more than 400 agricultural tools illustrating the traditional cultivation of cereals, market gardening, vines, olives and fruit.
So, sadly, the agricultural-tool anoraks among you will have to admire the building from the outside.
The walk
Enter the valley, soon taking a sharp left bend and heading upwards to reach a junction.
Turn right and continue upwards above the Ravin des Canalettes.
After about 40 minutes from the start, when directly beneath the electricity cables, you may see the indication for the path towards Los Masos, an incomplete and rather unimpressive dolmen.
We would suggest skipping this detour. The path can be steep, rough and overgrown, and the dolmen itself is difficult to see. If you’re a complete-finisher and absolutely have to tick every box, you can investigate — but don’t say we didn’t warn you!
Continue up the piste and eventually reach a rough tarmac lane.
Turn left and soon take a piste to the right, indicating the direction of Mas d’en Peyrot.
Right turn towards Mas d’en Peyrot
After some distance, keep right at Mas d’en Peyrot.
Notice the huge cork-oak tree by its entrance on the left.
Let’s tork cork!
The bark of the cork oak has been put to good use for thousands of years.
Cork is used for insulation, flooring, fishing floats, shoe insoles, gaskets and, of course, wine and champagne stoppers.
Cork production has declined considerably in recent decades, but interest in renewable and sustainable materials has helped revive the fortunes of this ancient industry. Cork is still an important industry in the Vallespir.
About 45 minutes after the turn towards Mas d’en Peyrot, on a sharp left hairpin bend, find a footpath on the right leading up through the oak trees.
At the top, arrive at the Dolmen de Puig Fournas.
The chamber is about 2 metres long.
Take time to explore the covering stones and look for the small cup-shaped hollows, known as cupules.
Dolmen de Puig Fournas
The footpath continues downwards.
Emerge on to the piste and find the Dolmen de la Creu de la Llosa.
This dolmen also bears cupules and other markings carved into the stone.
Cupules
Cupules are small, roughly hemispherical hollows deliberately pecked or carved into rock. They occur on prehistoric monuments and natural rock surfaces in many parts of the world. Their exact purpose remains uncertain. You’ll sometimes come across elaborate theories about their having been used for rituals, fertility, rain-making or healing. The truth is that nobody really knows what the people who made them intended.
Which, of course, makes them even more intriguing.
A cairn at the site marks the start of the path uphill towards the final dolmen, Serrat d’en Jacques.
As you climb, views of le Canigou open up behind you.
Serrat d’en Jacques and le Canigou
Behind the dolmen is a very large cairn or circular stone construction.
Pass to the left of it, take the footpath downhill and arrive at a crossroads of pistes, where you may spot a pink water cistern — and, on occasion, an armchair.
Cross towards the pink water cistern, pass behind it and follow the footpath with the high metal fencing visible on your left.
As the path gets close to the fencing, bend right and reach another crossroads of paths.
Turn right downhill, following the cairn markings.
The path drops and crosses a glade, with a piste to the right.
At the far end of the glade, reach the top of some small cliffs and stop to enjoy the excellent views of the Ribéral valley and the mountains beyond.
The path descends to the right of the cliffs into another glade of trees.
In this dip, at a crossroads of paths, take the path on the left. This leads down to the car park of the Ermitage de St Maurice de Greulera.
Proceed left to the hermitage.
Hermitage of St Maurice de Greulera
The site of St Maurice has a long history, with origins going back to the medieval period. The first written reference dates from the 13th century, while the present chapel was substantially rebuilt in the 17th century. The hermitage was restored during the late 20th century.
It is a wonderfully peaceful spot, and well worth a look if it is open.
The nearby small chapel, Notre-Dame de Vie, has also been restored.
The site is associated with the Catalan poet J.S. Pons, who is buried here.
From the 17th century onwards, hermits became more closely connected with the surrounding communities. Villagers would come to them for advice, conversation and spiritual guidance.
And although they were mostly men, did you know that the feminine of hermit is hermitess?
We didn’t either.
Back to St Michel de Llotes
After your visit to the hermitage, take the small footpath on the right down to the piste.
Follow the piste downhill, turn left at the junction and continue for about 3 kilometres.
Pass the entrance to Mas Montplaisir halfway along.
At the junction of pistes, maintain the level you are on and continue to contour the hills.
Eventually St Michel de Llotes comes into sight in the valley below — a few houses and the church visible on the left.
Look for a footpath on the right which descends towards the village. It is just after a bend, with another footpath descending from the hill opposite.
The footpath emerges near a bridge over a dry river bed.
Cross the bridge, turn left and return to the car park.
If you miss the path, don’t panic. Continue on the piste until you emerge at the start point, then turn right on to the D2 towards St Michel de Llotes and right again after the bridge to find the car park.
Refreshments
There are no reliable refreshments available in the village, so take everything you need with you.
Nearby Ille-sur-Têt has plenty of cafés and restaurants if you have earned a post-walk reward.
And frankly, after 12 kilometres and 450 metres of climbing, we think you have.