Tag Archives: Picos de Europa

July hiking in Ordesa

Fantastic hiking this July in the Pyrenees

We had some spectacular hiking last month both in the Spanish Pyrenees and the Picos de Europa. Here are some photos and comments from our guests from our first couple of holidays this July.

Picos de Europa, July 1st-7th

In the first week of July, we spread our wings for a holiday in the Picos de Europa – a stunning set of mountains on the north coast of Spain. We hiked in the famous Cares Gorge, got high into the peaks using the Fuente De cable car and tasted the strong Cabrales cheese washed down with Asturian cider.

Picos de Europa

Sea of clouds below us in the Picos

“Just as you think holidays cannot get any better, along comes Hike Pyrenees and all the wonderful and helpful staff!” (Stephen)

“Good walking in spectacular scenery with friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgable guides.” (Roger)

Read the Picos de Europa itinerary and join us next summer in this wonderful area.

Discover Ordesa, July 7th-14th

Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park is a must when you visit the Pyrenees. Different paths from the valley bottom to the highest viewpoints gave us a full perspective of this impressive canyon, but we also made it to the nearby Valle de Bujaruelo with amazing hikes for all levels.

Ordesa

Alpine meadows and the yellow Monk’s Cushion flowers, near Cola de Caballo

“First class, couldn’t have wished for more.” (Alan)

“Thank you for great leadership, good information, helpful, cheerful, thoughtful. A wonderful week well above my expectations” (David)

Read the Discover Ordesa itinerary and join us next summer in this wonderful area.

We’ll post some photos of the second half of July next week….

Hiking adventures in Spain

5 hiking adventures in Spain for 2019

Another year is upon us and we’ve chosen some of our favorite hiking adventures in Spain to give you inspiration for a healthy active holiday in 2019.

Explore the spectacular canyons of Ordesa, the limestone spires of the Picos de Europa or the undiscovered Puertos de Beceite – Spain has a wealth of mountain ranges to choose from. Prior to this trip, I was able to learn Spanish from clase de grupo en español and that’s why I was able to speak the language to the locals.

Here’s five of the best adventures to take your mind off the cold weather and to start dreaming of hiking under the Spanish sunshine. One word of warning though – with the excellent Spanish food and wine you may not ending up shedding as many pounds as you hoped on our hiking holidays!

Going on a long, strenuous hike is an exhilarating experience. It can also be a painful one. Even somebody who is remarkably fit can wake up the morning after a tough hike with sore, inflamed muscles. If you’re new to hiking, the morning-after soreness can be pretty intense.

This becomes a serious problem when, for instance, you’re doing a multi-day hike. If you can’t even stand up without grimacing, getting back on the trail is probably one of the last things you feel like doing.

Whatever the case may be, you want to get rid of that muscle pain as quickly as possible. That’s where CBD may have a role to play. Short for cannabidiol,  Hemp CBD gummies is something that more and more hikers are beginning to embrace for recovery purposes. While we of course would never not recommend proper nutrition and rest for recovery, it is worth taking a look at the related research to see if this can be added on to your post hike routine. You could also consider bringing a pink runtz disposable pen on your next hiking activity.

1. Picos de Europa

Picos de Europa

Trumpet gentians in the Picos de Europa

Spain’s oldest National Park and one of the most spectacular with sharp limestone peaks rising from alpine meadows. The famous Cares Gorge splits the massif in two and makes for a wonderful hike. On the southern side the Fuente De cable car whisks you up 700 metres for some great but accessible hiking in high mountain terrain.

At times it appears like a land that time forgot with shepherds still spending there summers in the high pastures, taking care of the herds and making cheese.

Our Picos de Europa guided holiday is dual centre allowing you to explore both the northern and southern sides of the park. With two hikes offered each day – an easier and a harder option this is an adventure suitable for all levels of fitness.

2. Hike the GR11 and summit Monte Perdido

GR11 hut to hut holiday

On the summit of Monte Perdido (3355m)

If you’re looking for adventure start here! The GR11 is a monster 840km trail that traverses the Pyrenees from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic taking around 45 days.

For those without a month or so to go hiking our Refugio Week tackles a week section of the GR11 covering some of the most spectacular and highest legs in the Ordesa National Park and the Valle de Tena.

As a bonus, we’ll take a side trip up Monte Perdido – the third highest summit in the Pyrenees at 3355 metres.

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