THE FRENCH PYRENEES
8 days/7 nights

Trip grade:	Moderate: (4 - 6 hours of walking each day)
Trip Dates:	29 May - 5 June, 2012, for the late Spring flowers, and 29 September - 6 October, 2012, for the autumn colours
Tour Cost ex Dax	$2,380.00 per person per week, double/twin share with shared bathroom, and $2,530.00 per person per week, double/twin share with en suite. Single room supplement, $550.00 There is a 10% reduction for two week bookings
Maximum group size:	12 places each week

Our 2012 Pyrenees walking tours will again be based in a renovated Basque farmhouse set in the foothills of the Western Pyrenees. This is the area known as the Pays Basque - the country of the Basques, a quiet corner of France on the Spanish border, and within an hour's drive of the Atlantic Ocean.

Combine unbeatable walks, superb cuisine and our unrivalled knowledge of the Basque region of France, and you've got a holiday to remember.

The region is sparsely populated and is a bastion of the ancient and unique Basque culture, which maintains its own language and customs.

Beautiful farmland, rich valleys with fast flowing streams, beech forests, and ancient villages and cultural sites are the destinations of our walks. We will discover all these as we walk sections of the GR10, the famous long distance footpath that follows the Pyrenees from Atlantic to Mediterranean.

Pilgrims have crossed this area for over 1000 years, traveling from all over Europe, over the Pyrenees on their way to the magnificent church and shrine at Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain. We follow parts of this ancient but still used path, the GR 65, on our walks, visiting ancient chapels and the lovely old town of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

A mid-week rest day provides an opportunity to travel to nearby sites; an ancient abbey, the elegant spa town of Salies de Béarn, the pilgrims' meeting point at Ostabat or the medieval town of Sauveterre perhaps. One evening is free to dine out at a nearby town. We will take you to the restaurant and collect you afterwards.

Sample Itinerary
The following walks are a typical example of our program. Walks involve vehicle shuttles which take us through a variety of Pays Basques Landscapes. The choice and/or order of walks may change to suit conditions.

Day 1:
Meet at Dax railway station at 16h30 and transfer to 'Etxexuria', our comfortable Basque farmhouse in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Time to settle in and take a short stroll before drinks and dinner.

Day 2 - Ostabat (5 hours, 12 kms)
A fairly gentle start to the week. This walk starts from a saddle within view of the house and heads north along the edge of the Lantabat valley. Winding through gentle farming country, our route joins the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela (the GR65) and passes a 12th century chapel which was once a sanctuary for those on the pilgrimage. We end the walk at a café in the village of Ostabat, a former meeting point of several of the routes leading to Santiago.

Day 3 - Urdos (4 hours, 8 kms)
Urdos, a tiny hamlet with an ancient château and a 17C chapel, is the starting point for one of our shorter walks, some 40 minutes drive from Etxexuria. We climb up by the river under the shade of chestnut and oak woodland, past picturesque old barns, shepherds' huts, craggy rocks and lush vegetation. We have the option of walking up to the Iparla ridge and the Spanish border before descending towards Urdos.

Day 4 - Source of the Bidouze (6 hours - 12 kms)
We start with a long but gentle uphill in shady beech forest by the River Bidouze. Arriving at a vertical limestone cliff face below a hanging valley, we are faced with a dark cave containing the source of the River Bidouze, and if one is to believe Basque legend, the home of a "laminak" or two (Basque equivalent of leprechauns)! From here a track takes us to our lunch spot above the hanging valley, where we enjoy wonderful views of surrounding forest and mountains. After lunch, we continue the circuit past a wood pigeon netting site (only active in October), eventually dropping down and through lush farmland surrounded by hills, to be collected.

Day 5 - Col d'Ispéguy (6 hours - 12 kms)
One of the most attractive villages in the Pays Basque is Saint Etienne de Baïgorry, on the road to Spain from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Starting from the Col d'Ispéguy (one of the Pyrenean crossing points for that mother of all cycle races, the Tour de France), this walk traverses forest and mountain pastures, and offers superb views into both Spain and France. The last phase of the walk includes a descent valley through shaded woods and by the side of a fast flowing mountain stream to a cafe.

Day 6 - Salies de Béarn (0 kms!)
As a rest from walking; today we drive north out of the Basque country to this charming mediaeval Béarnaise town. Here you can wander around a typical French market, do any necessary banking or post office business before lunching in a local cafe. In the early afternoon you can visit the town's famous spa baths to relieve any aching muscles.

Day 7 - Sommet d'Occabé (5 hours, 12 kms)
This walk climbs up through the beautiful Iraty beech forest (the largest in western Europe) to a large open plateau and the summit of Occabé. At 1456m this is the highest in the area accessible on foot. Here we pass a formation of 26 cromlechs (stone circles) dating back to the Iron Age. After lunch we descend through forest to our pickup point.

Day 8:
Pack and transfer to Dax railway station by 09h00 in time for the TGV to Paris.