Pyrenees : Trekking and backpacking along Pyrenean long distance footpaths

and trails Pyrénées (F) Pyrenäen (D) Pyreneeën (NL)

Below all information you need to organize your own trekking, hiking or backpacking tour through the Pyrenees, western Europe's last wilderness : books, maps, a checklist and valuable insider information on parks, highest peaks, on the areas of outstanding natural beauty you should have seen, on the GR 10 and GR 11 (long distance footpaths) and the high level route HRP that cross our Pyrenees from East to West and suggestions on how to combine them to an own original trail and an exciting holiday. Get a complete 14-days original unpublished trail description in French here. or a 1 week in English here

If you need further help contact Richard our mountain leader, He also offers made to measure guided hikes for you, your couple, family or group.

How to get in Miglos? click here


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1. Preparing your trekking / backpacking through the Pyrenees

Most important: stay dry and warm and don't carry unnecessary weight. Your rucksack should not weigh more than 17 kg at the start of a 14 day hike, food included. This checklist and some books (see below) can help you. 15 Kg is better and possible (depends only on the weight of your rucksack and tent)

1.1. Guide books on trekking / hiking in the Pyrenees

You do not really need a book as you can find most of the necessary information on maps of the region. However, there are 3 useful guide books. Don't take the books with you, it's unnecessary weight, just note the information relevant to your hike on the back of your map.

The better maps are those of the Ctalan cartographic Institute

1.1.1. PYRENEES: HIGH LEVEL ROUTE, by Georges Veron, West Col Publications (ISBN: 0906227488).

A description of a backpacking route crossing the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean in 45 days. In practice there this is not really possible: you would have to add at least one day a week for resting and a further day to go down to buy food (replenishing supplies would take at least 2 days every fortnight for a single descent-ascent, as shops are generally now only in the small towns). This route is the one that likes the highest and most important peaks of the Pyrenees (Aneto, Mont Valier, Estats, Carlit and Canigou peaks)

1.1.2 LA SENDA: Grande traversée des Pyrénées espagnoles par le GR11, by Jean-François Rodriguez. (ISBN:2.905521.43.0 - in French, Spanish or Catalan; the English edition should be out soon).
This guide describes a route, a marked trail, following the Spanish side of the cordillera de los Pireneos. Even in a non-English version, you can use the tables which indicate where you can get food. This trail (with exception for the 13 first and the 8 last days) is probably the most beautiful of the three, although less difficult than the high level route and you will only now the Spanish side of the mountains. The combination of high and middle altitude footpaths makes getting supplies easier and it is less demanding than the french marked long distance footpath "GR10".

1.1.3. THE PYRENEAN TRAIL: GR10, by Alan Castle, Cicerone Press (ISBN: 1852842458).
Like the High level route, French long distance footpath no. 10 ("GR10") runs from the Atlantic to the mediteranean northern (French) side of the Pyrenees. Except for the eastern end Ariege and Pyrenees Orientales), the French side of the Pyrenees gets much more rain than the Spanish and this route although a marked trail is much more demanding than the 2 others because of the descents into the many steep north-south running valleys on the French side.

GR routes are indicated throughout with these markings . High Level Routes are not indicated, they need very good map reading and orienteering abilities since footpaths that still existed some years ago may have disappeared with the decline of shepherding.

The more beautiful, higher and wilder parts of the Pyrenees are (from west to east) the Northern parts of the Spanish counties of Huesca, Val d'Aran and Lleida, the French county of Ariège and Andorra. There is also the western half of the French county of Pyrenees Orientales. This means the Pyrenees between the N134 (France)/ N330 (Spain) relying Pau in France across the Somport pass to Jaca and Huesca in Spain to the West and the N116 road in France to the East. These areas include the parks of Monte Perdido, Maladeta and Aigues Tortes and the beautiful wild Ventelao massifs in Spain, the Pica (= peak in Catalan) d'Estats massif on both sides of the border, the Pic des Trois Seigneurs (Ariège) and the parks around the Carlit peak (Ariège/Pyrenées Orientales) massifs in France and the Grau Roig massif in Andorra.

a good place to stay

exciting guided hikes

If you want to make a rapid crossing of the most beautiful part the Pyrenees one possibility is to start at Somport in Spain and pass by the Parque ( = park in Catalan) Nacional de Ordessa, Monte Perdido, the Maladeta massif and the Parque Nacional d'Aigues Tortes. Cross the border near the d'Estats peak and pass from lake to lake in the south of the French county of Ariège, then over the Carlit Massif and Camporells to Mont Louis in the French county of Pyrenées Orientales. This trail does not include the very beautiful Grau Roig in Andorra. For many of the environmentally conscious the small country of Andorra is an ecological catastrophe where urbanization and uncontrolled commercial interests have been more important than the preservation of what only 3 decades years ago was a country of outstanding natural beauty.

Consider becoming a member for one year only. It offers you good value low costs programmed trekking as wel as made to measure discovery of the Pyrenees mountains.

owever, if you really want to get to know the Pyrenees and the people who live here, our suggestion would be to explore these regions over a period of years from two "base camps", one somewhere north of Lleida (e.g. the campsite at Ixeia, cfr day 20 of the Senda route), the other being the house of "Friends of the Pyrenees" at Miglos (tel +32.60.456.497)


practical information	self catering accommodation in the Pyrenees	Spanish Pyrenees hiking & trekking	Pyrenees hiking mountain retreat	Pyrenees mountains guide service	about us	learn Dutch	links
home	contact	subscription	groups and family groups	refuge de Certascan	Pyrenees family holidays hike	Pyrenees long distance trails	legal info