When he stared up at the great walls of the Cirque de Gavarnie, one of the biggest mountain cirques in Europe, French author Victor Hugo described the scene before him as ‘A Colosseum of nature’. It’s a sentiment that’s hard to argue with. But, what Hugo failed to mention - and as you will discover on this week long journey - is that the Cirque de Gavarnie is only one of the many wonders of the French central Pyrenees.

Over the course of our Week in Gavarnie journey we will take you to the heart of the great cirque itself, but via trails known only to a relative few. We will also take you high up above the cirque into a land of rock and ice. We will linger alongside turquoise tinged lakes, climb to summits few non-locals have ever even heard of and descend from high passes into thick woodlands through some of the best scenery in Europe. We have been hiking the trails around Gavarnie for thirty-odd years and the routes we offer on this journey are those that we consider to be the very best and which taken together encapsulate the incredible diversity of the Pyrenees. They’re not the easiest routes, but neither are they too demanding and none require technical expertise or equipment. Any regular hiker would class most of them as moderate. They are all one day hikes rather than overnight hikes. We’ve designed it like this in order to allow you to see a greater range of landscapes in a short period of time and so that you can enjoy the pleasures of a hot shower, comfy bed and delicious meal at the end of a hard days hiking. Afterall, it is supposed to be a holiday! This approach also means that you only have to carry a miniumn of gear each day.

While hiking you will be accompanied by an experienced, English speaking (other languages available on request) and fully qualified local mountain guide. He or she will ensure your safety, entertain you with interesting stories about the area and check that you are comfortable. They will also assess the weather conditions each day and make changes to the routes if they deem it neccassary from a safety perspective. You will be staying in upmarket guesthouses or country hotels and be driven to and from the trail head for that days walk each day.