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.
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....
Flowers in the Valle de Salazar
I 'm hiking in Navarra with Javier for a few days checking routes for our Western Pyrenees holiday. Today we hiked up the peak of Ori which is the first 2000m peak of the Pyrenees. we had superb views across the Pyrenees range. The flora was superb with fields...
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 it's...
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 continually...
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 written this insiders...
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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