It is located in Gavarnie, near la brèche de Roland, in the Pyrenees National Park, at 2,587 m (8,488 ft) high.

The well-known brèche de Roland gives access to the summits of the circus, to the Monte Perdido, to the Taillon, to the Aragonese valleys also.

The need of a larger and more comfortable refuge was felt for a long while, when Robert Ollivier launched the project in 1942.

Built by Castells enterprise of Bagnères-de-Bigorre, it was inaugurated in 1956 by Maurice Herzog, president of the Club alpin français.

Other access : from Pouey-Aspé by le vallon des Tourettes, or even from Spain, by la brèche de Roland.