Ornolac-Ussat-Les-Bains: Holiday apartments and holiday homes

Ussat-les-Bains offers medically supervised thermal treatments. Among other things, the thermal facility provides baths in the exercise pool, underwater showers, general and local showers, poultices, treatments in the exercise pool and thermal massages. The thermal water of Ussat is considered to contain sulphates, calcium and magnesium, as well as silica, and to be oligometallic.

Anyone wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains can use the following local information as a basis for making their choice.

Culture and history

The Spoulga d’Ornolac is a fortified cave. Its 50-metre-long corridor has two entrances; both ends are blocked by walls. The Spoulgas d’Ornolac and their surroundings have been listed as protected sites since 17 March 1943.

The Church of Saint-Pierre in Barry-en-Haut is a Romanesque church. Its ground plan is in the shape of a Latin cross and has three apses. The church also has a Stations of the Cross with 14 stations; the figures are made of bronze and attached to wooden panels. The origins of the present building probably date back to the 12th century.

The thermal chapel of Ussat-les-Bains has a Latin-cross ground plan. Since the Ussat-les-Bains thermal facility began operating in the 18th century, it has enabled poor people and paying spa guests to attend services. A chapel in Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains dates back at least to the first half of the 12th century.

The historic Thermes Fraxine in Ussat-les-Bains is an elongated thermal building with a rectangular ground plan and an arcade gallery leading to the bathing cabins. In 1869, the gallery of the Thermes Fraxine contained forty Carrara marble bathtubs, several showers of a new system and an equal number of comfortable cabins. The former casino of Ussat-les-Bains was built in the 1870s. From 1879, it was referred to as a café in some archival documents, while various guidebooks from the late 19th to the early 20th century continued to mention it as a casino.

Nature

Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains is one of the designated municipalities in the Natura 2000 site “Quiès calcaires de Tarascon-sur-Ariège et grotte de la Petite Caougno”. The protected area includes holm oak forests, stands of Phoenician juniper, birds of prey, bats and exceptional orchids. Along a one-kilometre stretch, the Natura 2000 site ranges from an elevation of 400 to 1,500 metres and includes several caves and cavities.

The Natura 2000 site “Quiès calcaires de Tarascon-sur-Ariège et grotte de la Petite Caougno” in the area of Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains features large limestone cliffs and slopes with vegetation typical of dry habitats.

Hiking and activities

The “Ornolac et Ussat” hiking route runs through the villages of Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains and Ussat. It reaches the Col d’Ussat at an altitude of 843 metres; there, paths to Arnave, Lugeat and Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains intersect. For this hiking route, it is recommended to park in Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains under the plane trees of the thermal park near the junction with the D123.

The official hiking guide lists “Le Clot de la Carbonière” as a hike starting in Ornolac-Ussat-les-Bains, lasting 3 hours and 20 minutes, with 490 metres of elevation gain, difficulty level 2 and a starting elevation of 480 metres. The activity at the Gouffre des eaux chaudes comprises three abseiling descents with a maximum length of 15 metres. The activity at the Gouffre des eaux chaudes also includes an optional swim in the final siphon, where the water is 21 degrees warm.

More local pages: Aulos, Aleu, Ax-Les-Thermes, Montardit, Orlu, Rieux-De-Pelleport, Villeneuve-D'olmes, Mazeres

To the higher-level travel overview: Ariège.