Blogging from the Pyrenees
Phil & Anna have been living in the Pyrenees for over 17 years and love the culture, wildlife and mountains here. We run Hike Pyrenees, which organises guided and self guided hiking holidays in the Pyrenees and other areas of Spain. Our blog tells about our adventures hiking, snowshoeing and skiing in the Pyrenees and we hope to explain some of the fascinating flora, fauna and history of the area. We hope you enjoy reading!
The Castle of Loarre: stone, stories and the making of a kingdom
Rising above the plains of Huesca, the Castle of Loarre is one of Europe’s best-preserved Romanesque fortresses. Built at the frontier of the early Kingdom of Aragon and later used as a filming location for Kingdom of Heaven, Loarre stands at the gateway to the Sierra de Guara — a landscape best explored on foot, where history, geology and walking trails come together naturally.
Cave paintings at Alquezar
Cave paintings dating back to 3000-8000 BC and fossilised animal footprints from 33 million years ago made a this hike at Alquezar feel like a trip through time. The Sierra de Guara in the Pre-Pyrenees has loads of history as well as some great hiking, climbing and...
Hiking the GR11: A Practical Guide
I've just finished putting together a guide to the GR11. The GR paths are a network of extensive paths that criss-cross Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. Here in the Spain, GR stands for ‘Gran Recorrido‘ and here in the Spanish Pyrenees,...
Discovering Ordesa
Things are now quietening down now for our season here in the Pyrenees, and last week, we ran our final Discover Ordesa week. For those seeking a bit more peace and quiet in the hugely popular (and rightly so) Ordesa & Monte Perdido National Park, mid-September...
Autumn Lady’s Tresses – Spiranthes Spiralis
I found an orchid that I'd not seen before earlier this week - an Autumn Lady's Tresses (Spiranthes Spiralis). It's a short orchid (around 15 cm) with tiny flowers (only around 6mm) that spiral around the stem in a very attractive way. It's not in my Pyrenees flower...
Guiding the Faja de las Flores – Ordesa
The Faja de las Flores is a spectacular high level walk which traverses the northern cliffs of the canyon along a weaker sedimentary layer which is in-cut. 'Faja' means girdle in english and the faja paths in Ordesa traverse different parts of the canyon at varying...
Some more photo’s from our recent hikes in the Pyrenees
As mentioned previously, it's been a busy start for Hike Pyrenees and there's more than one camera here at HQ. So here's my favorite photo's from the season so far from the dual level hikes in the Valle de Tena and Ordesa. With wild flowers in abundance, vultures...
A great season so far…
Well, the 2014 hiking season here in the Spanish Pyrenees is well and truly under way, and despite the occasional late afternoon thunderstorm, things have been ticking along nicely. Our self-guided holidays are proving to be as popular as ever, with about half of the...
Hike Pyrenees Flapjack
This is part of our guided walking picnic and a firm favourite with guests & guides alike! Full of energy & other essentials and perfect for hiking. This makes 18-24 bars depending on preference & you can of course vary the fruit, nuts and seeds according to taste....
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The Ordesa NP
Guide to hiking the spectacular canyons of the Ordesa National Park
Pyrenees butterflies
Gallery of the spectacular butterflies and moths we have in the Pyrenees
Village to Village
Hotel to hotel hiking in the high Pyrenees
Geology of the Pyrenees
Discover how the Pyrenean range was formed
Hike the GR11
A practical guide to hiking the GR11
Wildflowers
Discover the spectacular flora of the Pyrenees
Bearded vulture
This huge bone eating vulture is one of the Pyrenees emblamatic species