Pyrenean Haute Route | France – Spain

Pyrenean Haute Route | France – Spain

Pyrenean Haute Route | France – Spain 500 330 Hiking Blog

16 days

272 km

hard/difficult

 17911 m

 17153 m

The Pyrenean Haute Route

Our 16 days hike from Lesun to Salardú. A tour through the Central Pyrenees.

Explore the Pyrenees High Route in our video!

Stages and maps

Pyrenean Haute Route – Our Hiking Experience

The route runs as close as possible to the main ridge of the Pyrenees and thus mostly between the French long-distance hiking trail GR 10 and the Spanish GR 11. The trail is not marked! You need a detailed map (print/digital).
Getting there and back can be a bit difficult. Since the hiking trail does not go through any bigger city, buses are rare. We can recommend the following small towns: Lescun, Garvernie, Benasque and Salardú.
You should be in very good physical shape for the 272 km. Over 11,000 meters up and down the mountain require a great level of fitness. Mountain hiking experience is required
You should also take an amount of cash with you on this tour. There are few opportunities to get cash while on the move. At this point we refer to the City Gavarnie and Benasque.
The Pyrenean Haute Route leads you along numerous refreshment stops (refugees). Along the trail are several great refugees and campsites.
For more information about specific refugees, hotels or campsites have a look at our detailed report! As always, the exact locations can be found on our maps. It should be expressly pointed out that camping in the national park is prohibited. It is important to us: We leave the bivouac as we found it!
The path is characterized by steep mountain massifs, fields of snow, waterfalls and turquoise mountain lakes. The accumulation of animal and plant species that are worthy of protection is considerable.
Many passes have to be overcome on the route. The transitions are often very steep and not marked. Wrong routes can be life-threatening here!

Stages we hiked

  1. Lescun – Forest, 11 km
  2. Forest – Espelunquere, 20 km
  3. Espelunquere – Lac Casterau, 16 km
  4. Lac Casterau – Refugié d‘Aremouit, 16 km
  5. Refugié d‘Aremouit – River Le Gave d’Arrens, 9 km
  6. River Le Gave d’Arrens – Refuge de Clot, 20 km
  7. Refuge de Clot – Garvernie, 28 km
  8. Garvernie – Auberge de la Munia, 18 km
  9. Auberge de la Munia – Refugio de Barrosa 18 km
  10. Refugio de Barrosa – Campingplatz, 30 km
  11. Campingplatz El Forcallo – Camping, Lac Isclots, 18 km
  12. Camping, Lac Isclots – Talkessel Fluss “Barranco de Remune”, 11 km
  13. Talkessel Fluss “Barranco de Remune” – Hotel Hospital de Benasque, 5 km
  14. Hotel Hospital de Benasque – Refugi de Molieres, 14 km
  15. Refugi de Molieres – Refugi Restanca, 19 km
  16. Refugi Restanca – Salardú, 20 km

The Haute randonnée pyrénéenne (HRP) long-distance hiking trail takes you 800 km from the Atlantic Ocean through the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean Sea. It runs along the main ridge of the Pyrenees. The French long-distance hiking trail GR 10 and the Spanish GR 11 therefore meet the HRP again and again. The Haute randonnée pyrénéenne is a high alpine, demanding long-distance hiking trail across the Pyrenees. Anyone who lacks mountain experience or is not in the necessary physical condition should therefore switch to the alternative routes GR10 and GR11. These often lead you along the edge of the high mountains.

High alpine landscape

Steep mountain massifs, lush forests, waterfalls and turquoise mountain lakes stretch over 400 kilometers in the Pyrenees mountain landscape. As so often due to time constraints, we have therefore concentrated on the high alpine regions of the Pyrenees on our tour. On average we ran 17 km a day. 18,000 meters up and 17,000 meters down speak for themselves! The path often turns into a via ferrata. The reward is not long in coming, the view is breathtaking.

Always with the tent

In order to remain as flexible as possible, we slept in the tent, as so often, and can plan our stages freely. Nevertheless, we did not turn down a few overnight stays with washing and supply options. An omelette for €6 and a coffee for €2.50 become routine.

For more information about the hiking tour Pyrenean Haute Route don´t hesitate to contact us. Feel free to watch our videos on YouTube and explore our other trails we´ve experienced for you!
Take care and go out and make it happen!

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