Source de la Têt (Cometa d'Espagne, Carlit)

Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes

Where does the Têt, the ‘longest river of the Pyrénées-Orientales’, rise? The departmental tourist board writes that it rises in the Lac des Bouillouses, at the foot of the Carlit massif. Wikipedia FR is more precise: in the commune of Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes, the source is a ‘very small stream’ situated below the puig de la Cometa d'Espagne, to the right of the estany de la Grava, where the Têt is also called the Rec de la Grava; the article does not mention a lake at the source. The altitudes differ: 2,579 m in the text, 2,405 m in the infobox, and about 2,400 m in Wikipedia EN, which places the source at the foot of the Cometa d'Espagne. The infobox even says ‘at the foot of the pic Carlit (2,921 m)’, whereas the text places the source five kilometres from that summit. The river measures 115 to 116 km according to the sources and reaches the Mediterranean near Perpignan. The Vinça dam was built in the 1970s to channel floods, and embankments were erected in Perpignan in the 19th century. No legend linked to the source was found.

Getting there: Coordinates from the Wikipedia FR infobox (areq.net copy), below the Puig de la Cometa d'Espagne, five kilometres north of the pic Carlit according to the text; exact location not verified. The departmental tourist board, for its part, speaks of the Lac des Bouillouses (see the text).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound