The castle of Montségur sits on a steep limestone peak, the pog, at about twelve hundred metres above the valleys of the Ariège, and even from the road below it looks impossible. In the thirteenth century it was the last great refuge of the Cathars, the dualist Christians condemned as heretics by the Church and crushed by the Albigensian Crusade. In 1243 a royal army laid siege to the summit, and after ten months the defenders surrendered in March 1244. Those who refused to renounce their faith, more than two hundred people, were burned at the foot of the mountain, in a place still called the Field of the Burned. A simple stone memorial stands there today.
The ruins you climb to are actually later, rebuilt as a royal fortress after the siege, but the atmosphere is powerful. The path up is steep, rocky and slippery when wet; allow an hour for the round trip and wear decent footwear rather than riding boots if you can. From the top, the view sweeps across the Pyrenean foothills and on clear days to the high peaks to the south.
The roads around here are wonderful. The D9 climbs from Lavelanet through Montferrier and then winds up towards the village of Montségur, below the castle, with tight bends and steep gradients. From there it continues towards the Col de la Croix des Morts and the Gorges de la Frau, a narrow limestone gorge, or descends towards Bélesta. Near Bélesta, the Fontaine de Fontestorbes is an intermittent spring that rises and falls on a rhythm during dry periods, a natural curiosity well worth a stop.
The surrounding area, often called the Pays Cathare, is full of other castles of the same era, perched on improbable summits: Puivert, Peyrepertuse and Quéribus among them. Riding between them is one of the great motorcycle tours of southern France, through forests, gorges and vineyards with very little traffic outside summer.
Lavelanet, the nearest town, was once a centre of textile production and is now quieter; it has fuel, supermarkets and cafés. The village of Montségur has a small museum and a few places to eat. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; in winter, the high roads can be closed by snow and the castle path can be icy.