Pyrenean Biodiversity

This focus of this week is discovering the diversity of animal and plant life in the French Pyrenees.  As the summer progresses we will explore different aspects of the richness of the nature around us: June is a particularly special time to investigate the spring flowers that emerge as the meadows reclaim the hillside from the snows of winter, summer gives us the full display and September allows us to reach higher as the snow is at its minimum. The setting for this transformation is the Pyrenees National Park and its periphery zone. Highlights include studying edible wild flowers and a day around the foot of the Ossoue Glacier.

Price: 750€ pp twin share for 7 nights accommodation in Hotel Les Templiers, all breakfasts, 6 dinners, 6 picnics and 6 guided day walks. Single supp. 17€ per day. Dates 2012: 16-23 June, 4-11 Aug, 18-25 Aug, 1-8 Sept.  Contact: Jonathan or Sian.

Self-catering /camping options possible: add 270€pp to your apartment rental (~600€/week for a one bedroom apartment, ~750€/week for a two bed) or organise your own camping accommodation and add yourself into the group.  Contact: Sian.

A qualified International Mountain Leader who is currently completing his masters in Mountain Sustainable Development through the University of Edinburgh, Jonathan is the perfect guide to introduce you to the biodiversity of the Pyrenees.  Your exploration of the area will involve day walks into many of the valleys around Luz Saint-Sauveur between Lourdes and Gavarnie with the aim of maximising your exposure to the mountain flowers and the animals that eke out their existence in the high mountain areas. These include isards (Pyrenean chamois – Rupicapra pyrenaica), marmottes (Marmota marmota), stoats (Mustela erminea), foxes (Vulpe vulpes), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and pine martens (Martes martes).

In particular we will spend a day visiting the Pibèste Nature Reserve which harbours a unique biome of Mediterranean plants thanks to its south facing slopes, low rainfall and fast draining soils. The park also houses a population of mouflon (Ovis ammon) and a large nesting population of griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus), as well as egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) and lammergeirs (Gypaetus barbatus).

The role of landscape in determining which flora can survive in a given niche will be a key aspect of the week. We will visit areas of differing geological characteristics that posses either alkaline or acidic soils. We will also walk through grazing meadows as well as woodlands to maximise the spread of ecosystems we encounter. We will consider how different plants are adapted to variations in altitude,  aspect and steepness of slope. We will even be looking at plants that survive on slowly moving scree or boulder fields.

 

 

The daily excursion programme will include:

- A day at the Pibèste Nature Reserve

- A day in the Cirque de Gavarnie

- A day up towards the glacier at the foot of the Vignemale (3298m) to see those plants surviving at the extremes of nature

- A day around the Plateau de Saugué and the Bué pine forest

- A day in the Ossoue Valley – marmots, isards, saxifrage

- The edible flower hunting day

Weather conditions and group members will influence itinerary choices and Jonathan will assess both each day.

No dinner day is Friday, giving you the opportunity to try one of the other village restaurants and splash out on the last night.

Price: 750€ pp twin share for 7 nights accommodation in Hotel Les Templiers, all breakfasts, 6 dinners, 6 picnics and 6 guided day walks. Single supp. 17€ per day. Dates 2012: 16-23 June, 4-11 Aug, 18-25 Aug, 1-8 Sept. Contact: Jonathan or Sian.