The Pyrenees are gorgeous at any time of the year, but it’s autumn when these mountains truly shine. The steep lower slopes of much of the western part of the chain are covered in dense beech forests and come the middle of October the leaves on these trees start to change color. The result is an explosion of orange, red and gold across entire hillsides. Combine these firey colours with sapphire lakes, fresh dustings of snow on the summits and whisps of mist and cloud filtering through the valleys and your left with a spectacle to remember.

We’ve spent years scouting the mountains for the finest viewpoints, most memorable backdrops and for the valleys with the most searing colours. And, on this set departure, small group tour we will reveal to you the finest autumnal landscapes the French Pyrenees have to offer.

The first instinct of anyone seeing the Pyrenees in its autumn finery is to pick up a camera and so on this journey we will be putting an emphasis on photography (and writing for those who are interested). While this isn’t a hardcore photography workshop for professional photographers, the tour is being led by a qualified local mountain guide and by professional photographer, writer and journalist (and owner of Samgai Journeys), Stuart Butler. He will be offering guidance on how to use your camera, frame images and think creatively. It’s therefore ideal for those starting out in photography or wishing to take their photography to the next level.

As well as phootgraphy there will of course be a lot of hiking. We will take you along some of our favourite trails at our favourite time of year and along the way we will visit Alpine lakes, march through thick forests and enjoy the view from wonderful vantage points. We class the hiking routes on this tour as moderate. The longest single day of hiking is 5-6hrs with an elevation gain of around 800m. There are no technical difficulties on any of the routes. They all follow clear footpaths and will be easily accomplished by any reasonably walk fit person, including children.

We will be visiting several valleys over the course of this week and will change accommodation three times. We will be staying in small, high-end hotels and guesthouses.

The week we have picked to run this tour is the one we consider to have the strongest autumn colours. But, this is nature. Some years the autumn colours peak earlier. Some years they peak later. The weather in the backhalf of October is often very good with clear blue skies and afternoon temperatures in the low to mid twenties. But, it’s still late October so snow and rain is also possible . We will endever to run this tour to the planned schedule but, if weather conditions require it, then we might have to adjust the schedule accordingly.