Welcome to Pyrenees Hiking Holidays, we specialise is hiking, walking and climbing holidays in the Pyrenees Mountains, France.

The Pyrenees Mountains

The Pyrenees are generally formed of slate, limestone, sandstone, and granite. They are the result of tectonic activity million years ago and thousands of years of glacier activity. The mountains stretch for 270 miles (430 kilometers) from the Mediterranean Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west.

Many of the mountains in the Pyrenees are more than 9,000 feet (2,740 meters) tall. The highest peak is Pico de Aneto, which rises 11,169 feet (3,404 meters).

Snow covers many of our peaks all year-round. Ancient glaciers are still active in the Pyrenees. There are also many mountain lakes and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.

The Pyrenees offer a scenic and mountainous landscape. The mountains are a popular place for outdoor activities including hiking, skiing, rafting, mountain climbing and observing wildlife
 

The Pyrénées National Park

The Pyrénées National Park is located within the French departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques along the border of France and Spain. The Mont Perdu World Heritage Site straddles the border between France and Spain.

The Pyrénées National Park was created in 1967. It is a natural heritage without barriers or fences where animals are totally free. Devoted to preserving biodiversity and landscapes, studying wildlife and plant species, the park is home to 70 different species of animals.

As a result the work toward protecting the Pyrenean mountain wildlife, lizards, marmots, boars, isards, beards, wolves, eagles and vultures have seen an increase in population.

Because the mountains are protected, there is a unique range of flora - more than 250 Species of wild flowers cover the mountainside from May through to September.

Themed hikes centre on wild life or botanical walks as well as other interests.

Climate

The varied climatic pattern of the Pyrenees Mountains, range from a limpid, sunny continental atmosphere, to the mild mists of the northwest with all the transition stages in between.

In the Central Pyrenees, the contrast in humidity between the French and Spanish sides is remarkable.

North of the Central Pyrenees, the oceanic influence penetrates eastward towards the Mediterranean and winds from the southeast carry damp air from the Mediterranean.

South of the Central Pyrenees, the valley of the Ebro runs on a northwest–southeast axis. The Catalonian ranges block the valley, and its climate is one of great thermal contrast. The high altitude of the Iberian Peninsula exaggerates this. Yet it is Mediterranean and unlike anything known in other European countries.

Plant and animal life

Forms of life in the Pyrenees have some remarkable characteristics. The historical vicissitudes of the chain and its isolation at the southwestern limit of the main European peninsula have influenced the structure and character of its population.

The exposure of the mountain surfaces, the variety of altitude and the conditions of local climate caused by mountain relief create special localized enclaves of all kinds.

The Pyrenean fauna is rich today in larger herbivores as well as in the variety and abundance of predators. Species such as the wolf, lynx, and brown bear, have had their numbers severely reduced in the northern Pyrenees, although the marmot has been successfully reintroduced.

The southern Pyrenees, represent one of the last important reserves for wild European fauna driven out of sectors more heavily populated by humans. For example, of the two species of desman that exists, one inhabits the Pyrenees and the other southwestern Russia.