Walk independently or in a professionally guided group, everything from easy walking to serious hiking

Choose anything from valley based day walks through to week long hut to hut trekking across the Pyrenees

Hiking to the highest summits in both France and Spain

Walk with a local nature expert and informally study plants, animals and birds or go on tailored botanical and other special interest holidays

Our walking, trekking and hiking holidays are based mainly in the Hautes Pyrenees in France, but from our base in Luz St. Sauveur we also offer trips to the Spanish Pyrenees. The Pays Toy region, as it is known, borders the protected mountains of the Parc National des Pyrenees and the Neouvielle Reserve. Hunting and new building have been outlawed and the result has been a gradual re-population by Pyrenean wildlife: lizard, marmot, boar and different species of eagles and vultures. Because the mountains are protected, there is a unique range of flora - more than 250 species of wild flowers cover the mountain sides from May through to September. (If you’re particularly interested in botany, we arrange special botanical walks.)

The Pays Toy is also home to the most dramatic natural sites in the Pyrenees. Visit the daunting Cirque of Gavarnie with its 426 metre waterfall or the famous deep blue Lac du Gaube below the north face of the Vignemale. You can walk past violent water cascades in the pine forests of the Marcadau valley or trek into Spain through the gigantic natural stone doorway at the Breche de Roland.

Alternatively, for a more sedate interlude, browse around the agricultural markets and try the excellent local cheeses, honey and wines. Or spend some time in some of the higher villages. With their flowery window boxes, ancient stonework and 'aeroplane' views, they are as pretty as you will find anywhere in the mountains.

Wildlife and Flowers – natural history and botanical walks
The Pyrenees range is among the best sites in the world for botany, as well as birds and mammals. Many species are endemic to the area and some local plants have a long history in homeopathic medicine. Our walking leaders know where to look for wildlife and flowers in any particular week of the season. We also offer Special Interest Walks for those who would like to study one particular aspect of Pyrenean flora or fauna, such as orchids or mushrooms.

Tailor Made Walking, Hiking and Trekking Holidays
These days, people are turning to smaller companies like ours to find more individual choices. If what you see on these pages isn’t exactly what you want, contact Wendy and Sandra, who manage our UK bookings office. They will ask you what you want to do and then help design a holiday. If it can be done, they will find a way of doing it!

Email: Pmtuk@aol.com
Telephone:(0044) (0) 1635 297209

They are also keen to find out how your holiday went and may call you on your return to check that everything went well.

Our Trekking / Hiking / Walking Holidays Explained
Most importantly, the choices are all yours. Check out the right hand column to see how we grade our walks and treks. (We tend to use the terms ‘walking, ‘trekking’ and ‘hiking’ fairly interchangeably, but in general, a hike or a trek is likely to be longer or more arduous.)

Secondly, you can opt for either guided or independent walks – or a mixture of both. For more information on guided walks, go to guided walks in the Pyrenees. For more on independent walking, go to independent walking in the Pyrenees

Many of the walking weeks described on this website are guided by an experienced mountain leader. They will keep you safe, show you the route and add a lot to the experience. Local leaders study for years to get their qualifications and they know an enormous amount about the history, geology, flora and fauna of the area.

We believe that UK walkers are unnecessarily wary when it comes to guided walking, imagining perhaps it will be ‘Butlin’s style’ jollity or a military route march. Neither is true. Leaders are very skilled at pacing the experience for the group and they have a great respect for nature and quietness.

If you would like to walk in a guided group, please see the following links. We welcome walkers of all ages, levels of fitness, and singles, couples or groups. However, please check that the described level of walking is right for you. .

Guided Walks and Treks
We offer a wide range of walks and dates:

Indepenent Walking
But if you prefer to just do your own thing, that’s fine too and you can book several of these treks, hikes or day walks on an independent basis. Independent walks are available from the 7th June to the 19th September and you can start your holiday on any day of the week. For independent walking, see the following links :

How our Pyrenees Walks Work
For independent trekking and day walking or hiking in the Pyrenees, we will provide the back up you need: maps, route notes, local transport and we will book all your accommodation in huts and hotels. When you arrive, one of our leaders will join you in a bar or at your hotel to talk about the route and go over the detail on a map. Then we drop you off the next day to the start point of the walk and you continue on your own until we rendezvous with you at the end of your trip.

For some independent walkers, we recommend that the way to get the most out of your trip is to bring or hire a car. That way you remain independent, although we will also meet you to supply information and maps and on occasions we can help out with transport if you want to do a non-circular route.

Some weeks mix independent and guided walking, so people can enjoy both time in a group and on their own. If this appeals, have a look at : :

Walking from Two Spa Towns
Discover the Pyrenees
Nature Walks
Special Interest Walks

Email Wendy or Sandra for more details and prices

World Class Hut to Hut Treks
The Pyrenees provide some of the most famous trekking in the world. Despite this you can walk for miles and see few or no people, especially out of the high season period. Graded upwards from gentle middle mountain circuits to the famous sea-to-sea Pyrenean Haute Route, the treks described here will offer ever changing scenery, dramatic views and the sheer pleasure of making your way from place to place under your own steam.

All the treks are led by a fully qualified leader. If you are a group of four or more we may be able to customise one of these treks for your group alone. The guides are almost always local and French with a home grown passion for the Pyrenees. You will find them safe, informative and very willing to answer your questions. All are qualified leaders and many have degrees in relevant subjects like geology or botany.
Occasionally (particularly in September) trekking weeks will be led by our own, in-house, qualified, English speaking staff. Group sizes usually vary from between four to eight people..

The treks described here are very different physically. Walking days differ in length as does the distance travelled uphill or down. On some trips you will need to take much of what you need with you all week. On some treks you will stay in small gites and in others high mountain refuges. Gites and refuges supply beds, blankets and meals, so you need only carry the basics – like a change of clothes and water.

Please read the descriptions here carefully and make sure to find one that matches your level of fitness. The leaders always set a steady pace suitable for the group and build in pauses for snacks and explanations, but it is no fun spending a week struggling to keep up. If you want to discuss the best trek for you, we are very happy to do so. Just give us a call.


A Special Note
Our treks are organised to run on the dates specified on this site and to follow the exact routes described, and on almost all occasions this is what happens. But there are a few weeks where the holiday is dependent on the adequate number of people booking it. In these circumstances we and the group leaders will do everything in our power to ensure that clients are offered an experience as near to the same height and same style and same level of difficulty (e.g. high mountain/refuge or gite/hotel based etc) even if, for reason of low numbers, we are unable to offer the exact trek originally requested. This will be achieved either through the walker joining another trek or joining day walking groups. We should stress that this is a very rare occurrence. In most summers, we run all holidays exactly as booked. If treks are cancelled or revised in this manner we will offer the option to refund the full trek costs, including your deposit, but cannot reimburse any travel or extra costs already committed to.