HRP1 Hendaye – Orhy

The first person known to have walked along the spine of the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean was the Baltic-German naturalist Friedrich Parrot. He completed his traverse in 53 days in 1817 thus laying the foundations of the modern Haute Route Pyreneene footpath (the HRP as it is known in France).  The trail weaves its way roughly along the border crest of Spain and France at moderate to high altitudes. In 2011 we are beginning the great adventure of completing this entire traverse, and are offering the first four weeks along the HRP. Every night is spent in a different mountain refuge. This first week starts with a dip in the Atlantic Ocean on the beach at Hendaye from where we climb gradually above the ocean to the first foothills and summits of the beautiful Basques country. We finish the week in glory on the Pic d’Orhy (mountain-inspired poetry!), the most westerly ’2000m’ summit of the Pyrenees.

Date: 28 July – 4 Aug, 8-15 Sept, 15-22 Sept. Price: 875€pp, discount for groups of 4 or more. Contact: Mandy.

Itinerary

Day 1: We collect you from Biarritz airport or train station for a comfortable first night in a hotel where we outline the plan for the week.

Day 2: After a quick dip (optional but highly recommended) we start our trek from the Atlantic on Hendaye beach.  Heading in a south-easterly direction, we climb several low passes before reaching Olhette, our gite for the night.

Day 3: We climb to the beautiful view from the ‘Col des Trois Fontaines‘ before dropping back down to our village for the night, Ainhoa.

Day 4: Climbing several passes, we reach the charming village of Bidarray for the night.

Day 5: A harder day but with great views along the border ridge of Crete d’Iparla. We come to St Etienne de Baigorry for our gite.

Day 6: Today is an easier walk and brings us to the famous Basque town of St Jean Pied de Port, where the GR10, the Way of St James and the HRP all meet.

Day 7: We finish today in glory on the Pic d’Orhy, the first 2000m summit on the western side of the Pyrenees.

Day 8: We drop you back to your arrival point…hoping the adventure of the traverse is to be continued!