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!
Spotlight on the wallcreeper: bird of the year 2025
The wallcreeper, with its bright scarlet wing patches, is one of the Pyrenees most famous birds and prized sighting for ornithologists. It’s being celebrated as the ‘Bird of 2025’ by SEO/Birdlife to highlight the dangers it faces and why this small bird is so special.
Family hike to Refugio Goriz
In the last week of the summer holidays, we had a family hiking trip up to Refugio Goriz in the Ordesa National Park where we camped for the night. Isabel and Christopher are only 9 and 6 so we cheated slightly and took the Ordesa 4x4 taxi up to Punta Acuta. From...
Cirque de Gavarnie and Pic de Gabiet (2716m)
Another fantastic hike with Juanma. This time we explored the area of Bujaruelo, crossing over into France for views of the Cirque de Gavarnie before tackling the spectacular border ridge and the spiky peak of Gabiet at 2716 metres. We started at the Refugio of San...
A night on a three thousand metre summit
Last week, Juanma and I had an adventure in the Ordesa National Park and bivvied on the summit of the three thousand metre Punta de las Olas. It was by far the highest I've ever bivvied and I have to admit to a little nervousness about being that high up without a...
The shortest hiking season ever!
Well, we started running hiking trips again in early July with the situation in Spain at the time improving greatly and travel within Europe starting up again. We had some brilliant hikes with our long-standing guests Anne and Danny here for a week's private guiding...
Hiking Pico Bacias (2760m)
Last weekend I headed out to Pico Bacias, a wild rocky 2760 metre peak. I hadn't done this hike for ages and I'd forgotten how great it is. The views over Vignemale and across to the three thousand metre peaks of the Ordesa National Park are just exceptional. Joining...
The Mozarabic churches of the Serrablo
The glacial valley of the Serrablo stretches south from Biescas and is home to many beautiful Romanesque or Mozarabic churches and to one of my favourite cycle routes. The quiet country lanes have virtually no traffic and lovely views. The cycling isn't too strenuous,...
Out hiking again – Punta del Pacino
On Monday I finally got back out hiking in the mountains again and it felt wonderful! I went up Punta del Pacino with Ruby. It's a special walk for me as it was the first route that Anna and I did in the Valle de Tena and the day that we realised we'd finally found...
Refugios in Aragon to reopen 22 June
Great news that refugios in the Aragonese Pyrenees are due to reopen on the 22 June and we'll once again be able to spend a night in the mountains and access the high peaks. There will be changes in capacities and other safety/hygiene measures introduced. Refugio...
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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