Basque Mountain Experience Guided Walking Weeks in the Pyrenees.
Holiday Highlights

Farmhouse

Stunning Basque farmhouse with guided walks in the Pyrenees stepping our from the farmhouse door

Cultural Events

Evening dinner parties with private culinary and cultural programme.

Insider

Meet mountain shepherds and local experts and learn about the age-old traditions and pagan beliefs still alive in the area

WW2 Escape Lines

Explore Basque culture and traditions and the local stories of smuggling and resistance

Tradition

Family business with over 20 years of experience working with local Basque people

The Basque Borderlands of the Pyrenees Explained

Backstage in the Basque Pyrenees

Georgina Howard

For over two decades I have led guided walks into these enigmatic Basque landscapes for private clients and tailor-made groups.

I have been a feature writer on Basque culture for The Sunday Times and, in April 2022, I had a fun day’s filming with Michael Portillo in Zubieta, introducing him to the moeurs of Basque mountain life for his documentary ‘The Pyrenees with Michael Portillo’.

My personal story in northern Navarre has allowed me to integrate in-depth into the Basque shepherding community. My neighbours have been patient with me – and amused – helping me raise my Basque daughter and sharing their personal narratives, traditions, beliefs and fears, enabling me to pepper every talk with undocumented stories and anecdotes. My memoir, In the Footsteps of Smugglers, is to be published by Bradt in July 2024.

Joaldunak of Ituren and Zubieta carnival

A Different Vignette of Basque Mountain Life at Every Turn

Due to the old fueros (laws) of Navarre, the medieval landscapes of the Spanish Basque Pyrenees have changed little over the centuries and are notably different from those of the French Basque Country just over the border.

Our relaxed walks into the Pyrenees follow a labyrinth of paths forged by shepherds, peddlers, pilgrims and smugglers, winding between the summer pastures higher up the mountain slopes and the many traditional villages along the rivers on the valley floor.

Crumbling barns, chestnut groves, vegetable gardens, water mills and 15th-century churches dot our route, presenting us with a different vignette of Basque mountain life at every turn.

Basque Smuggling Walks in the Pyrenees

Over the years I have extensively documented the history, traditions and superstitions of the farmers of Basque Navarre with particular reference to the Joaldunak - the bizarre, pagan protagonists of the Ituren-Zubieta carnivals. However, I am particularly fascinated by the local history of smuggling and resistance. During World War II, the Basque smugglers of the Pyrenees played a vital part in the Comet Line escape routes, helping downed Allied pilots to safety over the French border into Spain.

The deep complicity between Basques, their unbreakable word of honour together with their inscrutable Basque language, Euskara, became cornerstones of the resistance movement. These are just some of the themes on our walks into the Pyrenees found on our fully-guided group holidays and also dovetailed into the programme on our Self-guided Basque Mountain Experience walking weeks. These tales have also been stitched together in my memoir, ‘In the Footsteps of Smugglers' (to be published by Bradt in the UK and US in 2024).

Culture Walking Week Highlights

* The Basques and their landscapes * Basque culture & traditions * Basque village architecture * Basque values & ethos * Paganism & witchcraft * Basque shepherds, millers & smugglers * The art & craft of smuggling & resistance * WWII COMET Line * Festivals and ceremonies * Basque cuisine

DATES 2024: Guided weeks are now tailor-made privately for small groups (max 8 people). However, highlights from our guided walking holidays are encompassed in our Basque Mountain Experience Self-Guided Walking Weeks which offer an enlightened blend of both guided and self-guided walking experiences, culture and gastronomy..

Total Basque Mountain Experience Self-Guided Walking Weeks 2024

FURTHER DETAILS

The Lie of the Land

And so why do I feel that these Basque borderlands of the Spanish Pyrenees are exceptional? In many parts of the Pyrenees – and in rural Spain as a whole - the villages are slowly being abandoned but this is not so here. The Basque people live here in heart, body and soul. Here, village schools are full, and the Basque language, ancient festivals and farming traditions are thriving.

Let me take you backstage into my home community and enlighten you on the history, traditions, ethics and language of these noble Basque mountain farmers. A culture very few outsiders ever really get to know.

The Length & Distance of the Walks

Our small family-run company, with more than two decades of experience in this area, has developed a network of over 200 km of paths straight from our farmhouse door which allows us immense flexibility when planning our walking weeks. These informal and companionable walking weeks also allow time during the day to curl up on the terrace with a good book or a cup of tea.

All walks are taken at a relaxed pace too, the aim being to cover between 12–16 km a day (some 4–5 hrs) with ascents/descents ranging from between 300–500 metres. An opportunity is never missed to stop for a cool beer in a village bar or chat with the farmers and villagers that we meet on our way.

Georgina guiding her private walking holidays in the Pyrenees

The Week's Itinerary

As spontaneity is vital in making the most of these dynamic, everchanging landscapes, unlike larger tour operators, we have taken the decision not to pre-determine a daily itinerary. With a very reduced number of guests joining us each week, we are in the privileged position of being able to tailor-make each walk to our guests’ specific interests. In this way can we adapt to the current walking conditions and the local cultural calendar and make the most of each opportunity as it arises.

During the week there are five guided walking days. One day is free for us to help our guests organise the day as they will, many people choosing to visit the nearby towns of San Sebastian and Pamplona. In the evenings we have a sociable, cultural and gastronomy programme.

Due to traditional political differences between Navarre and the Basque Country, these peaceful borderlands of the Basque Pyrenees still lie off most tourist trails.
Welcome to the 'Bermuda Triangle' of the Basque Country!

Goats near the vulture breeding grounds of Itxusi

Ancient Basque Festivals

Whenever possible - although this is a rough science - we try to tie in our walking weeks with the numerous festivals and traditions in the area. The pagan origins of Ituren - Zubieta carnival is the subject of many anthropological studies and lie at the very core of our village identity. The protagonists of these carnivals are the Joaldunak (bell-wearers). The solemn rituals of the Joaldunak, (Guardian report 2018), with their whips, bells and lace petticoats are some of the oldest in Europe.

The Joaldunak can be witnessed on several occasions during the year and - when possible - we join the locals in these festivals. Midsumm e r bonfir es, autumn festivals, mushroom hunts and apple-blessing ceremonies all have similar pagan origins and we seize every opportunity to join in, sampling the local Basque foods, cheeses, ciders and wines, and listening to the Basque music and Bertsolaris (rhyming bards). Please note that due to the vagaries of village life and these uncertain times, these festival dates do sometimes change without warning. The ever-changing social calendar is a constant source of surprise!

Zubieta and Ituren carnivals and the Joaldunak holidays in spain

Walking the Pyrenees escape lines with friends and relatives of the Basque resistance

Walking along the mountain paths of my Basque hamlet in the Spanish Pyrenees

Walking group in the Basque Pyrenees above the mist

Independent Walkers

Guests interested in combining some of these guided walks with a more relaxed, independent programme of self-guided walks, making the most of the 200 km of circular trails from the farmhouse door, please see our Basque Mountain Experience Self-Guided Walking Holidays. The whole ethos of everything we do is inclusive and, even on our slightly more independent walking weeks, nobody ever walks alone unless they want to.

Aperitifs in the garden at Donamaria restaurant

Local Gastronomy & Basque Secrets

After a day of walks in the Pyrenees our guests are invited to join us at our relaxed dinner parties 'en famille' around the kitchen table. On several evenings we organise an exclusive programme of cultural and culinary events, local wines, cheeses, music and drama enter the plot.

And as the evening unwinds we reveal secrets of these Basque medieval landscapes (and, at times, other secrets too!).

Putting my hand in the fire (and there are fires to put hands into!) I promise guests some of the most charming and uncharted walks in Western Europe.

table set for dinner at pyrenean experrience

Home-from-Home at the Farmhouse

Guests are invited to help themselves to coffee, tea, beer, wine and biscuits etc. The house is always full of bread, cheeses, fruit, salad and wine, so no one need ever go hungry! We provide:

Full continental breakfasts
Lunchtime meals and hand-picked local inns and restaurants.
Tapas and picnics.
Full three-course evening meals with wine and an evening cultural and culinary programme.
Read more about our house party ethos.

Farmhouse Accommodation in the Pyrenees

Guests taking either our self-guided or guided walks in the Pyrenees options are accommodated in one of our 5 en-suite double rooms and each room has amazing views over the Pyrenees and the valleys below our house. Here, you can enjoy breakfast on our sunny south-facing terraces or an aperitif after the walk in our landscaped gardens. We run an open-house and guests have full access to our well-stocked kitchen, library, living and dining spaces as well as a free self-service bar of tea, coffee, wine and beers. There is WIFI, central heating and a log fire.

The bedrooms are suitable for both couples or solo travellers.

Read more about our farmhouse accommodation.

Views from our farmhouse on our creative retreat in the Pyrenees

Pyrenean Experience bedroom with garden terrace in the Baztan Valley

Pyrenean Experience B & B in Ituren views of our terrace

The Total Basque Mountain Experience Guided Walking Weeks

Dates 2024

Guided weeks are henceforth tailor-made privately for small groups (max 8 people). However, certain guided walks are encompassed in our Basque Mountain Experience Self-Guided Walking Weeks which offer an enlightened blend of both guided and independent walking options.

Total Basque Mountain Experience Self-Guided Walking Weeks 2024

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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.