Tavascan Port. Route 04 of Persecuted and Saved. Marterat, in France.

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We will know the route of the Port of Tavascan. Route 04 of Persecuted and Saved.

An essential tour to experience and feel more closely a part of the history of the 20th century. During the years of World War II (1939-1944) thousands of Jews crossed the Pyrenees fleeing the persecution to which they were subjected to Nazi-occupied Europe. The Holocaust affected six million European Jews. Many of those who managed to flee, originating from Germany, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium or France, crossed the mountain passes of the Lleida Pyrenees in epic evasions, defying vigilance on both sides of the border, the weather, perpetual snow and the hardness of the route. Their goal was to seek refuge away from Europe. Until 1943 the evacuees were basically refugee families in France escaping from the persecution initiated by the Vichy government.

The “Persecuted and Saved” project highlights the values ​​of cross-border spaces and paths as cultural and memorial itineraries with the aim of disseminating their role as flight places for those persecuted during the Second World War. At the same time, it extols the values ​​of aid and solidarity that the residents of this territory expressed towards the refugees.

One of these itineraries that place us in this history and with one foot in Pallars Sobirà and the other in France is the Port of Tavascan. The route that was followed started from the French Vall d’Ossèse, crossed the Port of Tavascan, which in France is called Marterat, to reach the town of Tavascan, in La Vall de Cardós, passing through the outskirts of Noarre.

We will leave Sort and go up La Vall de Cardós to the town of Tavascan to get to the parking lot at Fuente de la Costa, in a 4×4 vehicle. There we will start the route on foot, discovering landscapes and history, passing through the lakes of the Port and up to the Port with excellent views of the neighboring French valley, to return later on the same path.

The characteristics of this route on foot of Perseguidos y Salvados are:

Total length: 2.80 km (round trip)

Parking start height: 1809m

Maximum height of Puerto de Tavascan: 2218m

Positive difference: 409m

Classification: MODERATE

Approximate time: 1h45min up, 1h00min down

We recommend completing the excursion with a visit to the Camino de la Libertad Prison-Museum, in Sort. You can also visit other cultural spaces in the Vall de Cardós.