Tardets in 30 seconds
579 inhabitants (INSEE 2022), 16 km from Mauléon, on the banks of the Saison. Official French name: Tardets-Sorholus (Tardets and Sorholus merged on 16 April 1859); in Basque, Atharratze-Sorholüze.
1299: founding of the bastide of ‘Villeneuve de Tardets’.
What to see
Tardets village
A late 19th-century church (opened for worship in 1866). Typical Souletin houses.
Place aux Arcades
The nearby rivers have shaped an unusual triangular square, lined with arcades and colourful 17th–19th-century façades; passageways lead down to the river.
The Ehujarre gorges
Limestone gorges in Upper Soule, in the neighbouring municipality of Sainte-Engrâce (Santa Grazi), less well known than Kakuetta, followed by a transhumance path up towards the Pic de Lakhoura and the summer pastures.
The Kakuetta gorges
Soule’s flagship site. See the Sainte-Engrâce page.
The Madeleine chapel
At the top of the Mont de la Madeleine (793 m), the highest point in the municipality, on the boundary with Barcus. Pilgrimages on Passion Sunday and on 15 August. You can get there on foot, by bike or by car, and there are views of the mountains of Béarn and Soule.
The masquerades
Sundays, from January to April. Every year, one Souletin village organises the masquerade, which then tours the neighbouring villages. There are 25 to 80 performers, divided between the Reds (elegant dancers) and the Blacks (an unruly troupe), to the sound of the txürüla, the ttun-ttun and the atabala.
The pastorale
Theatre sung in Souletin Basque, with six months to a year of rehearsals. Every year a different village in Soule stages one, with performances lasting about three hours, generally in late July and early August.
Market and festivals
- Farmers’ market: every other Monday, and every week in July–August.
- Cheese fair: the first Thursday after 15 August, which opens the festival.
- Tardets festival: around 15 August (concerts, Basque dancing, pelota, kantaldi, toro de fuego).
- Carnival in winter.
Local specialities
- Ossau-Iraty PDO (AOP) — sheep’s cheese (the municipality is within the designation area)
- Piperade and axoa
Getting there
- By car: from Mauléon
One-day itinerary
- Morning: the Ehujarre gorges
- Lunch: in the village
- Afternoon: the village and its arcaded square, then the Madeleine chapel
My favourite photo
A masquerade in winter — the Reds dancing in front of the crowd to the sound of the txülüla. Or the Saison at dawn, with a light mist over the river.
Sources
- Pays Basque tourist office (Office de tourisme Pays basque) — Tardets, The bastide of Tardets
- Wikipedia (in French): Tardets-Sorholus, Soule masquerades, Soule pastorale
Ongi jin Atharratzera — Welcome to Tardets-Sorholus.