Walk to Freedom across the Pyrenees
- Trek the Chemin de la Liberte the WWII escape route to Spain
- Trek from France to Spain on this historic trail
- A short and challenging 4 day hike in the Pyrenees
- Some of the best mountain views in the Pyrenees
- Free day in the French spa town of Luchon
The ‘Chemin de la Liberte' was the toughest of several escape routes set up across the Pyrenees during the Second World War. Running from Saint-Girons in the Ariege district of France to the village of Isil in Spain, the trail has been an official way-marked walk since 1994 and can be completed as an excellent and quite challenging 4-day hike. After a first night in Saint-Girons, we trek on forest trails into the foothills of the Pyrenees and climb to cross the high mountains of the Ariege via the Refuge des Estagnous (2245m) and the Frontier Col (2522m). En route, we encounter rocky cirques, mountain lakes, boulder-fields and possibly snow-filled gullies, whilst marvelling at some of the finest mountain views in the Pyrenees. Finally, we drive back across the border into France and end our adventure with a free day in the charming town of Luchon.
Is this holiday for you?
This trekking holiday is a traverse from France into Spain over the Pyrenees. We stay in a mix of hotels, gites, mountain huts and we have one night either wild camping or in a shepherd's hut. The trek involves walking on a waymarked trail over variety of terrain including forest paths, Alpine meadows and over rocky passes. The trails used for the most part offer good underfoot conditions but there are several sections where we will cross boulders and others where we may encounter patches of winter snow. A few places along the route involve some easy scrambling with some exposure. We average around 7 to 9 hours walking each day with typically approx 700 metres of ascent and / or descent on most days. We will also have to carry all our belongings including a light sleeping bag, sleeping mat and 1 nights's food provisions (although these are issued just 2.5 hours from the shepherd's hut).
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