Etymology: The meaning doesn't pose a problem: From the Latin (villa/vallis) caldarensis = (villa or Valley) where there are hot baths, in Gascon "los cautarers".

Cauterets is located 32 km (20 mi) southwest of Lourdes and borders the Pyrenees National Park.

The village gives access to many hiking trails serving natural sights, such as the Pic de Péguère at 2,316 metres (7,598 ft).

Meanwhile, Gaube Lake is approximately 1hr and 30 minutes walk from Cauterets or can be accessed by a chairlift from the Pont d'Espagne, a settlement on a mountainside crossed by a waterfall.

The minimum altitude, 503 metres (1,650 ft), is located in the north, where the Gave de Cauterets leaves the communal area and enters that of Soulom.

The maximum elevation of 3,298 metres (10,820 ft) corresponds to the highest point of the French Pyrénées, Vignemale, marking the border with Spain [fr].

[4] The main thermal baths, Thermes Cesar, were opened in 1843 and continue to offer treatments today.

Based on data collected between 1981 and 2010: The mean daily temperature in Cauterets was 9.9 °C (49.8 °F) and average annual rainfall was 1,238.2 mm (48.75 in), with November as the wettest month.

Between 1059 and 1078, Bernard III, Abbot of Saint-Savin, had installed a pool called "bain d'en-haut" [bath from above].

They were sentenced to life imprisonment and to pay a yearly fine on the day of Saint Michel in the Church of Saint-Savin.

Multiple visits by Marguerite de Navarre in this century gave real fame to Cauterets.

On 25 July 1807, the Queen accompanied by guides Clement, Lacrampe and Martin, made the Cauterets-Gavarnie crossing by the Hourquette d'Ossoue [fr].

[7] In 1822, Vincent Chausenque, made the first ascent of the peak that now bears his name at 3,205 metres (10,515 ft) above sea level.

In 1937, the idea of a cable car to develop the skiing was launched but postponed due to World War II.

In the 1950s, during the construction of numerous hydroelectric dams, Cauterets refused the introduction of several selected at the Pont d'Espagne.

The services of the General Council of the Hautes-Pyrénées commissioned a new section of road, in record time, of several hundred metres drawn on a mountainside, with a succession of spectacular laces that bypass the collapsed area.

An extensive Pyrenean commune, Cauterets offers many natural sites in connection with the Pyrénées National Park, such as the Pont d'Espagne, Gaube Lake and the cascades which adorn the Gave de Jéret [fr] and the Gave de Lutour [fr].