Pyrenean Experience
The Basque Pyrenees
In a no-man’s land in the hills of Basque Navarre lie the ‘hobbit-like’ farmlands of the Basque Pyrenees. My home, Iaulin Borda - backdrop to my memoir 'In the Footsteps of Smugglers' - lies at the heart of these landscapes and, on just a handful of dates a year, Iaulin Borda opens her doors to guests from all over the world. (We have just 5 guestrooms.) These weeks offer a miscellany of bucolic mountain walks, medieval villages, smugglers' tales and great Basque cuisine. They are incorrigibly spontaneous (please don't ask me for a detailed itinerary of events!) and full of lazy talks on the terrace and bonhomie. See below for our Basque Mountain Experience walking weeks, Spanish language immersion courses, and our one-day Comet Line tours, which explore the WW2 smuggling and resistance networks - by land and by sea.
In the Footsteps of Smugglers
Over ten circular walks and hiking trails step out from my farmhouse door - each path with its own story, told to me by Amatxi, the grandmother, who used to live on the farm on the ridge.
THIS is the place for discerning travellers, interested in other people and ways of life, hikers who love paths with a story to tell. No path is straight - and no story is quite that simple! 'In the Footsteps of Smugglers - Life on a Basque Mountain' compiles many of these stories. It was written to say 'eskerrik asko' (thank you) to the warm-hearted Basque shepherds of Ituren, many of whom you will meet on your walks, and who herded this rather 'doolally' English woman into the fold, giving me and my daughter a home.
Our Exclusive Products
* Total Basque Mountain Experience Guided & Self-Guided Walking Holidays * Spanish Immersion & Walking Holidays * WW2 Comet Line Tours * One Day Basque Experience Tours
'Total Basque Mountain Experience' Walking Holidays in the Pyrenees
The Basques love their land, and these - at times -medieval - landscapes offer a walker's paradise. The lands are communal, and a labyrinth of shepherding and smuggling paths offers fascinating vignettes of Basque daily life. Our Total Basque Mountain Experience Walking Weeks offer walkers a lively mix of both self-guided AND guided walks. There are about 15 self-guided circular walks from the house to explore, 'treasure-hunt style'. HOWEVER we have more to tell, so we offer several guided walks as well! NEW in 2026, this week also includes a guided walk along parts of the WW2 Comet Line escape routes over the Pyrenees AND an afternoon's sailing along the Basque coastline in our sailboat, Itxas Isar.
Spanish Immersion Courses for Adults
Voted one of the 'top ten learning holidays worldwide' by the Sunday Times (2021) our Spanish immersion courses have been welcoming guests for the past 20 years. These total immersion Spanish courses combine beautiful, relaxed walks through this ideal countryside with round-the-clock Spanish conversation with locals, friends, teachers and neighbours. There is also daily formal tuition every afternoon on the terrace. These eclectic, lively 'house-party' styled Spanish immersion weeks combine behind-the-scenes forays into the local culture and gastronomy, and unite intriguing local characters with their stories. With just 5 bedrooms at our farmhouse, these small, personal and relaxed weeks are ideal for discerning adults who love languages, people and landscapes.
Smuggling & Resistance Day Tours
WW2 Comet Escape Line (by land or by sea)
The Comet Line was a famous resistance network operating between 1941 and 1944 during World War II. It was the brainchild of a Belgian nurse, André de Jong (Dédée) who cared for Allied soldiers and pilots stranded behind enemy lines. In total about 800 pilots, soldiers and resistance workers were guided to safety over the Basque Pyrenees with the help of the local Basque farmers, smugglers and guides on both sides of the border - many of them women and children. Help us keep this amazing story of human bravery alive by joining one of our tours to visit the safe houses, ravines and border crossings.
Basque Mountain Experience - Day Tour (based on my memoir 'In the Footsteps of Smugglers')
This one-day immersion into all things Basque picks up the thread of the recent Channel 5 documentary 'In the Pyrenees with Michael Portillo' - where I acted as his guide to the Basque mountain culture of the Pyrenees.
During this tour, we visit the traditional Basque village of Zubieta (which featured in episode one), and explore the culture, history, pagan mythology and identity of these enigmatic Basque mountain people: lovers of their land, and guardians of their unique and fascinating language, Euskara (Basque).
Through a series of gentle village and mountain walks into the foothills of the Basque Pyrenees, we explore the landscapes and villages of this extremely traditional area, and complete the day sampling their world-famous Basque cuisine and wines in a little-known Michelin-recommended restaurant hidden in the hills. Based on my memoir 'In the Footsteps of Smugglers - My Life on a Basque Mountain'.
Press Releases
Exclusive, Unique, Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience
NONE of our holidays is a Lego-like package of walks + food + accommodation, but rather a totally integrated ‘experience’ of this amazing area. We run informal, open-house, personal (and personable) holidays where all our guests are made to feel part of the family. We like it this way.
We draw our support from a local team of cooks, historians, musicians, shepherds, teachers and guides who bring life, humour and integrity to every day, and stories and anecdotes to every path we walk. Here we travel in both distance and in depth.
Passion & Dedication
We love our work and are acutely aware that these cultural exchanges with our guests vastly enrich our lives.
Our ethos is relaxed and informal, the international house-party spirit is dynamic and fun and every meal and glass of wine is on the house (which seems the only civilised way to run a holiday!).
But do not be deceived, we are also a team of highly-focused professionals, passionately dedicated to all we do. Is there any reason why the two should not go hand in hand?
A friendly farmhouse in the Pyrenees and a relaxed home-from-home
Farmhouse Life
The farmhouse is situated in a tiny hamlet above the 'rival' villages of Ituren and Zubieta. It has just 5 en-suite guest rooms, each one with awe-inspiring views.
It is a relaxed and friendly place set amid landscaped gardens with comfy sofas, libraries of books and a fully-stocked kitchen, and our guests are invited to feel at home as soon as they arrive.
Lazy conversations on the terrace or over dinner are a constant source of inspiration and bonhomie.
See reviews in Tripadvisor, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Observer, Guardian and Daily Mail.
Last Opportunity Tourism
Despite the Basques’ umbilical attachment to their land, this patchwork of neatly-tended fields and chestnut groves is slowly changing as younger generations look for more modern and less time-consuming occupations. We are lucky in my hamlet of Ameztia, (Ituren), that my neighbour’s son, Iñaki, has taken over the sheep farm and our lands remain in competent hands for the time being.
Nevertheless, there is no better time than now to experience these immaculately beautiful – Tolkienesque – landscapes of the Basque Pyrenees.
Our Team
Georgina Howard
A language lover, teacher and writer, I first discovered the Basque Country with the help of an old Ford Escort called Fred, a Spanish-English dictionary, a pair of walking boots and a box of English tea bags. I grew up near Birmingham but spent many years in Copenhagen where finally my passion for languages, maps and mountains rebelled and drove me south! Just before leaving Denmark, I published my first book, 'Freedom to Choose' and - in many respects - the Pyrenean Experience put theory to practice. My memoir, 'In the Footsteps of Smugglers - My Life on a Basque Mountain', to be published in the UK and US by Bradt in summer 2024, pays homage to the amazing shepherds who have stood by me through thick and thin, dug my car out of ditches and helped me raise, simultaneously, my fledgling business and my (bossy) Basque daughter, Marion.
Today we host our house parties together with an amazing team of Spanish-Basque family and friends. Our lives here are closely entwined with the local population, and my neighbours are proud to share their culture with our guests.
A WORD OF WARNING: These holidays are not for everyone! I believe very much in carpa diem. These walking holidays in the Pyrenees are vaguely idiosyncratic - no day is ever the same. I prefer NOT to tie up the week with unnecessary timetables and schedules but to work spontaneously, deciding on the activities according to the weather, my guests' interests, and the friends, locals and festivals we encounter en route.
Blog
Articles on the culture, languages, traditions and values of the Basque Pyrenees as well as stories taken from over two decades of our own, personal Pyrenean Experience.
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Read more + 17 August 2022 By Georgina Howard in Basque Culture and Tradition, Basque Mythology, Ituren carnivals, The Basque Language, Visit the Pyrenees, Walking in the Pyrenees, Zubieta carnivals Zubieta in the Basque Pyrenees
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Read more + 21 July 2022 By Georgina Howard in Basque Culture and Tradition The Pyrenees with Michael Portillo
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Read more + 20 December 2019 By Georgina Howard in World War II Escape Lines Basque Children of the Resistance