Discover the great Lost Mountain of the Pyrenees

Visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Gavarnie Cirque

Quite easy walks but with access to the most dramatic canyons and cirques

We Move your bags for you, allowing you to ‘walk light’ - a grade B walk

The summit of Mont Perdu (3355m), the great lost mountain of the Pyrenees, lies hidden from France by the seemingly impenetrable peaks of the Cirques of Gavarnie and Estaube. It is the highest limestone summit in Europe and the third highest peak in the Pyrenees.To get to the mountain from Spain is not easy. Explorers first had to hike from the Aragonese village of Torla along the huge Ordesa Canyon and then up through the Circo de Soaso before attempting the stiff climb to the summit. Mont Perdu is the centrepiece of the Spanish Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido which was established in 1918.

Today the park has grown significantly to 156 square kilometres and incorporates the whole of the Anisclo Canyon. There are more than 1500 species of flower, 171 birds, 32 different mammals and 8 types of reptile in the Ordesa. Most magnificent of all is the Lammergiere (Bearded Vulture) with a 3 metre wing span. The Pyrenees is the only place to see these birds outside of Africa.

The area contains the impressive glacial cirques of Gavarnie, Troumouse and Barrosa as well as the gigantic canyons of Ordesa, Niscle and Escuain. This particular trip is unusual in that, by strategic use of the guide's local knowledge and the use of a van to move our luggage, we have access to these great sites but without some of the huge walks that characterise other treks. This is quite easy walking but in dramatic mountain territory. The average height gain/loss per day is 500 metres and the average walking day lasts four hours. Accommodation is in small gites/hostels with a two star hotel on first and last night. (A typical gite is a four bed dormitory with bathroom facilities near the bedroom. Two star hotels provide own en suite bath or shower rooms). You carry with you what you need for the day’s walking. On days when we change gites a van brings on our heavier things.

HOLIDAY ITINERARY

DAY 1 - Fly to Pau Pyrenees
Arrive in Pau and transfer to Lourdes for a night in a two star hotel.

DAY 2 - Transfer to Spain to the Vallée d’Aure and then an easy stretch along the Barrossa river. Soon we come to the magnificent Cirque of Barrosa. Night in a gite on the terraces of Bestué – a place that seems like it is really at the edge of the world.

DAY 3 – We head into the wild country of Garganta d’Escuain, one of the least visited areas of this region. Here we find gorges and torrents and the occasional abandoned village. Night in the pretty village of Nerin.

DAY 4 - We head for the summit of Mondoto (1962m) with its spectacular view over the Anisclo canyon. We are almost guaranteed to see vultures.

DAY 5 – An excursion into the famous valley of Ordessa, a site so splendid that Pyreneist Henry Russell said it ‘gave the angels nostalgia for the earth’. Others have called it ‘the Colorado of the Pyrenees’ for its vertiginous canyon walls and great waterfalls.

DAY 6– Many people know the cirque of Gavarnie, but fewer are aware of its much larger neighbour the ten kilometre long cirque of Troumouse. With its 1000 metre high walls, Troumouse forms a superb sanctuary for endemic flowers and wildlife, including the captivating marmottes.

DAY 7 - Finally into the famous Cirque of Gavarnie – the almost perfect semicircle of huge, rock wall that separates France and Spain. Even in summer the higher terraces will retain some ice. One local guide book calls this famous place ‘the geological poem’. It’s hard to disagree.

DAY 8 - Fly back to London
You head back in our minibus to Pau Airport or Lourdes SNCF to connect with transport back home.

Please Note: This itinerary may be altered if conditions, weather forecasts or the overall fitness of the group are judged to put the safety of the group at risk. Pyrenean Mountain Tour guides and instructors reserve the right to make changes to the itinerary without notice. These changes will be explained to the group if they occur.

EQUIPMENT AND PACKING IDEAS
Attention needs to be given to the possible effects of sun and dehydration and you must carry plenty of water and sunscreen. We recommend that people joining this trek are equipped with the following:

Technical equipment
Comfortable Walking Boots (3 or 4season)
Walking pole if you like them

Clothing suggestions
Fleece
Waterproof jacket
Waterproof over trousers
Sun hat or peaked cap
Sunglasses
Shorts and T-shirts
Good quality walking socks

Other useful items
A small rucksack
Sun block for face and lips
Personal First Aid kit (plasters,compede, paracetamol)
Water bottle or Platypus
Penknife