Self-Guided Walking Holidays in the Pyrenees

The Total Basque Mountain Experience Walking Weeks

Award-winning self-guided walking holidays in the Pyrenees

The Total Basque Mountain Experience

A medley of self-guided and guided walks, intrigue and idiosyncrasy at our mountain farmhouse

Documented Trails

No need for a car. Detailed maps of 15 circular walks from the house, and free (but optional) guided walks with Basque tales to tell

Diversity

Just one hour from San Sebastian, Pamplona and Biarritz, discover the Basque river valleys, villages, watermills, sherpherding paths and mountain farms.

All-inclusive

All inclusive 'open-house' holidays for individuals, couples and small groups. No week is the same and everyone is made to feel part of the family.

Exclusive Events

Informal dinner parties with home-cooked evening meals and unlimited wine/beer, etc. Private culinary and cultural programme.

Tradition

Family business with 25 years of experience. Top reviews in The Observer, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Wanderlust Magazine, Foder's Guide, etc.

The Total Basque Mountain Experience

Luxury self-guided & guided walking holidays in the Basque Pyrenees from our mountain farmhouse

Circular self-guided walks from the house

These friendly, idiosyncratic self-guided hiking holidays in the Pyrenees are perfect for discerning, independent travellers, curious about the landscapes through which they walk. For this reason, we have decided to kidnap you and whisk you away on several guided walks too. This allows you a backstage entrance into the moeurs and traditions of the land as well as the fascinating history of smuggling and resistance in the Basque Pyrenees.

The 15 or so 'circular' self-guided walks step out from our door, meticulously mapped with detailed notes. They are little more than 'treasure hunts' full of cultural quirks: a medieval bridge - a lime kiln - a Bronze Age burial mound beneath the brambles - a dilapidated water mill. But they inevitably end up with a cold beer at a village bar (Where we can also pick you up :-))

Each morning over breakfast, we sit down with you to help you design your own personal walking itinerary and the length and nature of the walks you desire. Our friendly - 'part of the family' - ethos, with full logistical support, makes these holidays perfect for walkers new to the 'self-guided' approach. (We will keep track of you - and quite possibly tag along too!)

Walking in the Pyrenees sound-of-music trail

Autumn colours on our self-guided walking holidays in the Pyrenees

There is ABSOLUTELY no need to change accommodation every night when there are so many varied walking trails from just one door! Day trips to San Sebastian, Pamplona and Biarritz (all 1 hr away) are possible by taxi, but you may just regret leaving the hills!

Joaldunak of Ituren and Zubieta carnival

A Different View at Every Turn

We are situated in the traditional Basque farmlands of the western Pyrenees, which offer a very different walking experience from the glaciated valleys of the high Pyrenees or the Alps. These landscapes are softer, dissected by hundreds of mountain streams and river valleys, and dotted with tiny medieval villages and isolated homesteads. Each turn of the path reveals another landscape and breathtaking views while griffon vultures fly high in the sky above us.

Decide over breakfast which landscape or village to visit each day. No rush. No timetables. And if you prefer to pass the day curled up with a book on our terrace, so be it. There are hikes for most levels (see below). However, guests should have hiking experience and be able to hike at least 8 km and climb about 200 metres or so to get the most of our walks. Apart from a guided orientation walk on the first day to understand the lie of the land, guided walks are also offered, picking up on themes from my memoir 'In the Footsteps of Smugglers'.

Since publication, interest has increased in our one-day smuggling and resistance tours, and the WW2 Comet Line escape routes over the Pyrenees. Consequently, in 2027 our walking house parties now include a day's hiking along the Comet Line; following in the footsteps of the WW2 Allied pilots who escaped from occupied France into Spain with the help of local Basque families, women and children.

Local Gastronomy and Basque Secrets

People need people

The last few years in tourism have reinforced my thinking on many subjects but, primarily, that people need people. (Which could be the subject of my next book?). Although, on certain days, you may choose to explore the area on your own, in the evenings, please join us around the dinner table for an informal, international meeting of minds.

During the week, our cook freshly prepares delicious evening meals for our guests - but you are welcome to join in too. Anyone with a good recipe is also invited to share it with us (and we are happy to get all ingredients from the local farms and/or shops). Depending on the season, we use as much of the local produce as possible, many organic vegetables and fruit are grown on our neighbours' farms. In the meantime, do always feel free to help yourself to wine, beer, coffee, tea, biscuits etc. at the house.

Cultural Programme

In addition to our house-party meals, I invite you to a gourmet lunch at our favourite 'Michelin-recommended' restaurant. (It even turned down a star!). It is a little-known place, hidden away, on a beautiful stretch of the river, so do bring your swimming clothes for a dip. Activities and fiestas change at a moment's notice in this area - and are done by the people for the people - NOT for tourists - but where possible, we tie in our activities with the local cultural calendar. As I say, PLEASE don't expect me to give you an itinerary. Spontaneity is key!

pyrenean experience views of the Pyrenees

Pyrenean Experience outside terrace and sofa area

Views from the Pyrenean Experience dining room

The Total Basque Mountain Experience

Self-guided walking weeks in the Pyrenees for all levels

Gentle

These walks follow gentle country paths around our hamlet and along grassy ridge tops without descending to the valley floor. Our 4.2 km farm walk weaves between farmsteads and meadows giving walkers the chance to observe the shepherds at work on their farms. There are other gentle walks around the 17th-century villages on the valley floor which can be reached by a 3 - 4km downhill walk. Nevertheless, experience of hillwalking is required.

Moderate

The majority of the walks are of moderate difficulty and link one or several of the 10 villages surrounding our farmhouse. These 8 – 16 km village-to-village river walks (with 300 – 500m ascents) pass through quintessential Basque villages such as Ituren, Zubieta, Elgorriaga, Donestebe, Donamaria and Saldias. Here you can stop for a drink or a Basque lunch in the bar, visit watermills, swim in rivers and maybe even join in a local fiesta.

Challenging

For more advanced walkers we have multiple 18km plus crest top and summit walks. The higher peaks of Mendaur to the north and Muñazorrotz to the south (both over 1000 m) can be reached by a 5 – 7hr mountain walk with a 800 – 1000 m altitude gain with views of the Atlantic and the Central Pyrenees. Here you can find long ridgetop walks, lakes, mountain shrines, dolmens and stone circles before descending again to the valley floor.

To see examples of a couple of our self-guided walks in the Pyrenees such as the gentle Ameztia Farm and Meadow Walk 4.2 km (Ituren) or the high-level mountain walk Ituren -Mt Mendaur - Elgorriaga Walk 17.8km click here.

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Further information on our self-guided walking weeks in the Pyrenees

Baztan Valley at Dawn - pyreneanexperience.com

Views from our house of our neighbours farm.

Open-house Policy

These ABSOLUTELY all-inclusive weeks offer:

A medley of self-guided and guided walks and an introduction to the human and physical geography of the Basque Pyrenees. Fifteen circular walks are mapped from the farmhouse door.
Guided walk of part of the famous WW2 escape route, the Comet Line, viewing the safe houses which hid Allied airmen before smuggling them over the Pyrenees into Spain.
Miscellaneous adventures and misadventures.
Full continental breakfasts.
A lunchtime sandwich/buffet service.
Three-course evening meals with unlimited wine, beer etc.
One gourmet lunchtime meal at our favourite Michelin-recommended restaurant. (It even turned down a Michelin star!).
Local, backstage cultural events - in an area far off the tourist track.
An open-house for guests to help themselves freely to snacks, wine, beers, coffee and our inimitable 'bonhomie'.

pyrenean experience ituren in the Pyrenees

Ituren - our local village

Farmhouse

Guests on our open house walking weeks are lodged in a separate wing of our home in one of our 5 en-suite double/twin rooms, each with a view over the Pyrenees. You can breakfast on our sunny south-facing terraces or enjoy evening aperitifs in our landscaped gardens. Our guests have full use of the house and its extensive library, and there is a free self-service bar of coffee, wines and beers. We have WIFI, central heating and a log fire. Nevertheless, part of the ethos of my open-house weeks is that we all join in. If anyone feels like giving us a hand cutting the garlic in the kitchen or watering the flowers, or sweeping the terrace, please feel free. All help is welcome!

Read more about our Farmhouse Accommodation.

Pyrenean Experience bedroom with garden terrace in the Baztan Valley

Pyrenean Experience terrace with views of Iaulin Borda

Basque Mountain Experience Self-Guided/Guided Walking Weeks

* Welcome reception * Introductory guided history & culture walks * Orientation walk * Accommodation in ensuite rooms with mountain views * Three-course evening meals with wine * 18 local maps & detailed walking notes * Guided walks along the WW2 Comet Line escape routes. Warm house-party atmosphere with an inspiring exchange of minds.

See dates & prices
May/June - September/October

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Further information

pyrenean experience self-guided walking week gallery

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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.