The Pyrenees Mountains… finally!  

Some fun facts:  the Pyrenees is a 267-mi (430-km) long mountain chain that forms a natural border between France and Spain, and spans from the Atlantic Coast to the Mediterranean Sea. 

We’d hoped to zig-zag through the mountains, criss-crossing between France and Spain but… it turns out there aren’t that many roads that cut through this high, snow-capped mountain chain. Ha! 

So for this trip, we decided to explore the French side.

To start our adventure, we drove up the long, winding road to the Col du Tourmalet, one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees at 6,939 ft (2,115 m). This pass is one of the most famous climbs on the of the Tour de France so, we were not surprised to share the road with some pretty darn amazing cyclists… wow!  

From there, we spent the week winding up and down more high-mountain passes (sharing the road with more amazing cyclists), meandering through beautiful quaint villages and hiking in some truly amazing mountain landscapes… alpine lakes, granite peaks and… so many waterfalls! 

Some highlights of the trip…

• exploring the Réserve naturelle du Néouviell.
• standing below waterfalls cascading down the glacier-carved granite walls of the Cirque de Troumouse and Cirque to Gavarnie amphitheaters.
• meeting the statuesque Comtois horses at the Col de Pailhères.
• hiking up to the alpine lakes and granite peaks in the stunning Parc National des Pyrenees.
• marveling at the Chateau Carcassonne, the medieval castle said to have inspired the design of the Castle in Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.

And did I mention… amazing mountains and so many waterfalls!

There was so much more to explore but alas… a chain of incoming storms forced us home earlier than planned. Oh well, it was a great introduction to the beauty of the Pyrenees, and we’ll be back for sure.  

But don’t take my word for it… see for yourself!

Enjoy!