Walking in the Valle de Ordiso

The walking season is in full swing here in the Pyrenees and we’ve had a couple of great walking holidays already this June with a Lakes & Valleys and a Discover Ordesa walking holidays. We’ve had some fantastic hikes visiting high alpine pastures, abandoned villages, the Ordesa and Anisclo canyons and some superb summits.

Walking up to the Ibon de Piedrafita

Walking near Bujaruelo on our Discover Ordesa walking holiday

The flowers have been superb and we’ve seen a dozen types of orchid including a couple of rare parasitical orchids – the birds nest orchid and violet limadore. Other orchids we’ve seen are bee orchids, woodcock orchids, fly orchids, elder flowered orchids, sword leaved helleborines, early purple orchids, marsh orchids, common orchids, pyramid orchids and dark vanilla orchids (and probably a couple of others that I’ve forgotten….).

The semi-parasitical violet limadore orchid

Bird lovers have not been disapointed either with the highlight being two lammergeier which landed about 100m away from us and then were joined by a juvenile as they soared off.

Thanks to all of our guests for making June a great month and we hope to see you again in the Pyrenees.

Len and the Bath boys

Thanks to Len, Phil, Julian, Peter, Alan and Trevor - our first guests of the summer. They walked  a new village to village itinerary staying each night in different villages in the Valle de Tena. Hope you had a great week guys.

Bit unseasonly cold at the beginning of the week but we were rewarded with fantastic views and one of the best birding days I’ve had in the Pyrenees. On the final morning we first saw a booted eagle, shortly followed by a short toed eagle that hunted near us all morning. Next a pair of golden eagles came not too far away followed by the obligatory griffon vulture. Day was rounded off by 2 sightings of a lammergeier and then a kestrel which looked tiny after seeing all these huge birds. 

The unmistakable profile of a lammergeier with it's long diamond shaped tail, dark wings and rusty coloured body. A magnificent vulture.

Brilliant bunch of guys – thanks for a great week – really enjoyed music, football and election chat (but not the singing!).

Read Len’s and other previous guests comments about their Hike Pyrenees walking holiday.

Looking across the snow capped peaks of the Valle de Tena