Adventurous Pyrenees Walking Holidays

Trekking in the spectacular Pyrenees!

An adventurous hiking holiday is a week of guided walking in the highest and most inaccessible parts of the Haute Pyrenees. A typical week will take in some of the 3000m peaks, some scrambles and high ridges that are exposed but not technically difficult. Some of the walking will be "off path", allowing us to see some of the wilder places where very few people visit. This area of the Pyrenees is the highest and most dramatic part of the chain, and there are numerous large peaks readily accessible to walkers. As part of an adventurous hiking week there is the option to spend one or more nights out in a high mountain refuge. Manned refuges have live-in guardians and provide basic accommodation and simple but filling meals. Un-manned refuges are a bit more of an adventure & often set in spectacularly wild places where we fend for ourselves - carrying food and equipment for cooking. The high refuges are a great opportunity to get to the most remote mountain areas without extremely long days, and you'll never forget waking up to see the sun rising behind distant peaks.

While our “adventurous walks” tend to be longer and more challenging than our other walking holidays, they are accessible to most people who have a reasonable level of fitness and stamina, and a good head for heights or just a desire to get off the beaten track. You will always be with a qualified International Mountain Leader, and emphasis is on walking - we do not use the techniques of Alpinism (with climbing equipment or crampons/ice axes) but there may be some short sections of route protected by a rope. If you would like to try some technical climbing or glacier routes, it is possible to hire a local high mountain guide through us.

We recommend some physical preparation before your trip so that you can get the most out of your walking holiday & regular swimming, jogging or walking (aerobic exercise) would be ideal. A typical day might be 8-10 hours in length, with an ascent of 800-1500m.

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Itinerary / Highlights

An example week's Pyrenees guided walking itinerary

Saturday & free afternoon
Arrive late afternoon. We suggest a leisurely stroll to the creperie at St Justin where you can enjoy a traditional French snack in the sunshine. The restaurant is on an isolated promontory looking out onto the lovely Bastan valley, the village of Barèges and the towering mountains on every side - it can only be accessed on foot.

Sunday - Pène det Pouri (2587m)
An interesting introductory walk from the village, giving us a chance to get to know the area and view the week's destinations from a prominent peak.

Leaving from the house (1250m), we cross the Bastan river and attack the horizon which dominates the view from our patio. A zig-zag path through mixed woodland takes us to the meadows of the Transarrious plateau. From here we take the Montagne Fleuri path, ascend to a rounded ridge and look down into a hidden cirque, strewn with ancient cabins and bergers' paths. We continue up the ridge, enjoying the growing views of Barèges and the Col de Tourmalet, then climb into the cirque through wildflower-filled grassland to our lunch-spot below the peak. If we're lucky, we might catch sight of an ‘isard' (Pyrenean Chamois) while we eat. After lunch we make our final ascent to the summit of Pène det Pouri (2587m). The views from the peak are truly spectacular & look North beyond Lac Bleu, the deepest natural lake in the Pyrenees, to the plains, East to the observatory and the Pic du Midi, West across the Atlantic Pyrenees and South to the Spanish frontier and the Brèche de Roland. For the return, we retrace our steps to Barèges for a well-earned drink.

Monday & Col de Madamète (2509m)/Pic de Madamète (2657m)
We trek into the Néouvielle nature reserve and the National Park & a dramatic contrast to yesterday in this wild landscape of scattered granite boulders and miniature pine trees.

Starting from our own valley, we drive for five minutes to the Pont de la Gaubie (1538m). Our morning's ascent follows the GR10 and ascends the beautiful Aygues-Cluses valley. The path climbs gently under gnarled pine trees, then across pasture to the Lacs de Madamète & a good place for a snack before we climb up to the Col de Madamète (2509m), and an optional ascent to the Pic de Madamète (2657m) for the more energetic walker. After a leisurely lunch, we make our way past a series of lovely lakes dotted about a huge valley filled with granite boulders. The landscape here in the Néouvielle Natural Park is very wild and rugged, with few signs of human passage. From the Lac dets Coubous (2041m) we make our descent back to the Pont de La Gaubie on a good path, keeping an eye out for marmots on our way down. This is our favourite place for marmot-spotting.

Tuesday & Le Taillon (3144m)
A challenging ascent of an airy frontier peak at the imposing Spanish frontier. The landscape is one of boulderingtowering cliffs and waterfalls, in the spectacular natural amphitheatre of the Cirque de Gavarnie.

We drive north through dramatic scenery, to the Cirque de Gavarnie& an incredible wall of cliffs forming a crucible into which falls Europes highest freehanging waterfall.s.A high border ridge Starting at 2200m, we walk towards and through the Breche de Roland passing over the remains of the Glacier du Brech on the way. We then follow the cliff wall around on the Spainish side to the airy ridge which takes us up to the summit at 3144m. The route requires some easy climbing, and is quite exposed & with spectacular views into Spain. The descent is by the same route.

Wednesday & DAY OFF
Your free day to use as you please. We suggest you try out the thermal spa in the village of Barèges, visit the Pic du Midi observatory or take the bus to the pretty towns of Luz-St Sauveur or Argelès-Gazost. Here you can stock up on the delicious local sheep' cheeses and ‘saucissons sec' (knobbly French salamis). The pilgrimage town of Lourdes is also accessible by public transport (about 1hr by bus). For those who can't get enough exercise, there are plenty of trails to be explored on foot from Barèges, and we can arrange activities including paragliding, caving, white water rafting, pony trekking, mountain biking, canyoning etc.

Thursday & Expedition Day 1: Pont d'Espagne (1496m) - Oulettes de Gaube Refuge (2151m)
A wild walk abandoning the tourist trail to discover a secret hanging valley and high lakes, ending at the foot of the mighty Pic du Vignemale - the highest peak in the French Pyrenees.

We drive via the deep gorges of Pierrefitte and Cauterets, through the grand spa town of Cauterets and up to the Pont d'Espagne, passing several lovely waterfalls on the way. At the Pont d'Espagne, we follow the main trail of the Vallee du Marcadau, which is very beautiful early in the morning. Soon we leave the main path to climb steeply into a hanging valley & the Vallon du Pouey Trénous. In this wonderfully secluded valley, you can't help but feel that you are in a true mountain wilderness. Our route climbs gently beside a rushing stream, before ascending the left of the valley, to a small cirque and a dried glacial lake bed. Now we pick our way over huge granite boulders, to a narrow col below the Pic Peyrot (2703m). From here we have a wonderful view across to the Vignemale and down to the Lac du Chabarrou. Our descent takes us steeply down a grassy hillside to the lakes (a great spot for a refreshing dip), where we rejoin a narrow path into the Vallée de Gaube. The valley bottom is a well-travelled route, and we finish our day with an easy walk to the Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube & which we can be almost certain that noone else has reached taking our path. The Oulettes refuge sits on the outwash plain of the North face glacier of the Vignemale & the highest peak in the French Pyrenees and is an awe-inspiring place to spend the night.

Friday & Expedition Day 2: Oulettes de Gaube Refuge (2151m) & Gavarnie (1365m)
An ascent of the Petit Vignemale and a stunning day's descent past the Vignemale glacier, finishing at the infamous Cirque de Gavarnie; a UNESCO world heritage site.

We leave the refuge early, while the valley bottom is deep in shade and the high peaks are touched by sunlight. This is a great time of day for spotting the elusive isards (Pyrenean chamois) and marmots. Our first climb is a good warm-up, taking us to the Hourquette d'Ossoue (2734m), where we look down to the Looking down on the BaysellanceBaysellance refuge. Here we have an optional ascent of the Petit Vignemale & another high peak at 3032m. The rest of the day is spent descending gently & across the foot of the glacier d'Ossoue on the East side of the Vignemale, and into a steep-sided valley with a lovely still lake. At the barrage, we take the HRP (Haute Route Pyrenean) path along a grassy valley and into the village of Gavarnie for our pick-up.

Saturday & Free morning

Free morning to pick up some souvenirs and get your postcards sent off. There's plenty of time for a rejuvenating dip in the thermal spa or a short local walk and lunch in a village restaurant. We depart for the airport around 1pm.

Other Details

Accommodation Details

All of our holidays are based with us in our newly-renovated 300 yr old house in the heart of the high mountain village of Bareges.

The house has a 3-star rating from 'Gites de France' (the highest standard in the village). We have five spacious, characterful and well-appointed bedrooms, one of which is a very large two-room suite. Each has an en-suite shower room, and we can offer twin or family (4 to 8 people sharing) accommodation for up to 14 people.

As well your room, all our guests have access to the spacious lounge and games room, with a lovely wood-burning stove, well-stocked bar, coffee bar, big-screen home cinema and a computer with internet access. We also have a big dining room and a heated equipment room (for coats, boots and skis), and a sauna - perfect for relaxing tired muscles after a hard day in the mountains!