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!
Valle de Tena Explorer: sunshine, wildflowers and mountain adventures
We had some great early season weather on our Valle de Tena Explorer trip last week. It’s always a delight to welcome people to our home village of Biescas. The wildflowers are simply stunning this season and at this time of year we’ve the trails to ourselves and the mountain tops are still white with snow.
Snakes in the Pyrenees
Ian a regular reader of the blog recently sent me a couple of photos of some snakes he’d seen on the French side of the Pyrenees to identify. He’d found a lovely example of a green whipsnake. It’s a long thin snake which can rach up to 2 metres but is usually quite a…
Punta Cochata (1901m)
Snows melting in the Pyrenees and I was out hiking today in the Valle de Tena with a friend Gustavo. We chose the peak of Cochata which sits in the middle of the valley with great views in all directions. Although not high it’s quite a rocky peak and looks as if…
Week on the Camino de Santiago
Recently I walked a week on the Camino de Santiago northern route from Hondarribia to Guernika. It was a fantastic 6 day hike with great views along the dramatic coastline. Lots of variety too as you pass through fishing villages, vineyards, along sandy beaches before…
Calcotada in Sardas
At the weekend we had a ‘calcotada’ in Sardas. A calcotada is a traditional event where calcots are grilled or barbequed. A calcot is a type of green onion (to me more of a cross between an onion and a leek). The white edible part is elongated by…
Ski gallery
Guide to skiing at Formigal
Formigal in the Valle de Tena is a great ski resort that doesn’t get enough British skiers. I ski there most weeks and there’s some superb on and off-piste skiing to be found there. There’s not much information in English on the resort so I’ve…
Great conditions at Formigal
Up at Formigal on Wednesday – great conditions with plenty of fresh snow. The Sextas area was as good as I’ve seen it this season and the fabulous Bosque run is open. Plenty of powder on some pistes particularly at Tres Hombres. A lot of wind slab…
Cross country skiing at Balneario de Panticosa
Taking a cross country skiing course up at the Balneario de Panticosa at the moment. Saturday was the first class and it was snowing quite heavily which made it really pretty. There are three pistes there ranging from a beginners green run of 1.5km to the red run of…
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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