A two centre holiday based in lovely old Spa Towns

Visit the Lac du Guabe, the Marcadau valley and the lovely Aigues Cluses

Relax in the Thermal Baths

A mix of guided walking and doing your own thing

This holiday combines guided middle mountain walking with the chance to explore the fascinating old towns of Cauterets and Luz Saint Sauveur. Both towns grew up in the middle ages as people began to exploit the healing powers of ‘thermalism’ – bathing in the natural hot springs which rise from the rocks nearby. Both towns are ringed with high mountains but give access to very different kinds of valleys with different flora and fauna, much of it unique to the Pyrenees. On your four guided walks your leader, an expert on the region, will explain the geology, histories and cultures which have shaped the high Pyrenees and point out indigenous wildlife and birds. The walking is designed to be stretching but not exhausting. Each walk consists of five to six hours and the pace is set to allow for stops, photos and explanations.

In any group there is a range of fitness and natural pace. We have structured this holiday to allow for this and there are lots of possible circuit and buckles where tired people can stop, rest, sunbathe and take photos while the others put in an extra loop, coming back to rejoin them after an hour or two. More ambitious walkers will be challenged while gentler walkers will not be bullied! This is a feature of this particular holiday often commented on favourably by previous walkers. In fact it may have saved a few marriages……..

On four days of the week the guide will pick you up at the hotel and lead you in a different valley. The other two days are left free to explore the area independently. There is plenty to do including visiting French markets, going to the Spa or walking independently. We can provide walk notes and maps if you would like them for these days.

We aim to keep groups small for this week with twelve people as a maximum. Often groups are as small as five or six. We set a minimum of five. Single people, couples and families with children old enough to do the walks are all welcome to join. Please call Wendy if you want to find out how many people are already booked in for the week you prefer.


HOLIDAY ITINERARY

DAY 1 - Fly to Pau Pyrenees
The best way to get to the Pyrenees is on a Ryanair schedule to Pau. We pick you up from there in our minibus and drive you to Luz St Sauveur in the French Pyrenees. You meet up with one of us in the bar or at your accommodation to finalise the week’s programme for your group.

DAY 2 - The first walk is in the gentle Aigues Cluses valley – home to many very rare flowers and plants, including some used in homeopathy. The name of the valley means ‘hidden waters’ because the stream which runs though its centre disappears and re-emerges from the ground all the length of the valley. This is a good warm up day as people can stop at any point and rest while the rest of the group go higher, coming back to rejoin them a little later.

DAY 3 – This day is left free for you to explore the fascinating Luz market which takes place on a Monday in the streets spreading out from the 12th Century church at the heart of town. There you can buy cheese, wine, paella, flowers, African leather goods and even the occasional bullock! Today might also be a good day to discover Luz’s elegant thermal baths. You can swim in the little pool, have a thermal power shower or indulge in a range of treatments.

DAY 4 – Today we head off to see the famous Cirque de Gavarnie - a huge natural amphitheatre of rock so perfect it is hard to believe it was carved by the natural force of glaciers. When you get to the base of the rock wall you can stand under the longest waterfall in Europe – if you can cope with the temperature of the water which originates in the ice fields high above.

DAY 5 - This day presents you with a choice. You can either walk the transfer route to the next town of Cauterets or we can give you a lift. The former route will take about seven hours over a high col, the latter about 30 minutes! But if you have the legs, the views from the Col de Riou are immense. If you take the lift we can recommend local walks when you get there.

DAY 6 – Now we regroup for a guided trip up the Marcadau valley. Here the rock and vegetation is very different and there is a strong chance of seeing Izard – the Pyrenean equivalent of chamois. You walk up rising stone tracks, sometimes still used to transport goods by donkey but originally constructed to allow trade between what we now call France and Spain. Older people still talk the language that predates that division – Occitan.

DAY 7 - On our last day we head to the haunting Lac du Gaube and, for the more intrepid, on up the path to catch a view of the glacier hanging from the highest peak in the French Pyrenees, the Vignemale Mountain.

DAY 8 - Fly back to London
You are transferred back to Pau Airport or Lourdes SNCF to connect with transport back home.

Please Note: This itinerary may be altered if conditions and weather are judged to put the safety of the group at risk, or if they indicate another route would be preferable for the group’s comfort. 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
We recommend that people joining this trek are equipped with the following:

Technical equipment
Comfortable Walking Boots
Walking pole if you like them

Clothing suggestions
Shorts
Fleece
Waterproof jacket
Waterproof overtrousers
Warm hat
gloves
Sun hat or peaked cap
Sunglasses
T-shirts

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

Optional items
Camera
Paperback novel (light!)
Snack bars/dried fruit/chocolate_

Additional items for Unguided Days
Compass
Waterproof map case