8-day trek along the French Pyrenees GR10 (Stage 1)

I will brief you about the coming days and answer any questions you may have at the hotel in Hendaye.

We begin in style by dipping into the sea at Hendaye Plage, the start of the GR10. We then pass through the village of Biriatou, rising rapidly above the Atlantic. We cross several cols before descending towards the village of Ascain. Depending on availability of accommodation we may need to take a transfer to our hotel.

Today we will pass through the villages of Sare and Ainhoa, noted as “plus beaux villages de France”, and we’ll see a lot of traditional Basque houses dating back to the 17th century.

A shorter day but is almost entirely uphill! We have a fantastic climb as we wind our way around Mount Errebí (583m), and then further past the Col des Trois Croix to Soporro (617m). We finally join the spectacular Gorospil ridge, and if the weather is good we can divert from the GR10 and take the ridge walk to the summit. In bad weather we’ll stay on the GR10 to reach the Col des Veaux.

We pass underneath the Pic Iguzki to reach the Col de Mehatse (716m). We have a series of cols before we begin our steep descent to Bidarray. We’ll pass the Harpeko Saindua cave on the way down, whose limestone walls are said to have healing properties.

As we ascend to the superb red sandstone ridge, we reach the peak of the Cresta d’Iparla, at 1,049m. The view is exceptional, stretching from the Atlantic over 62 miles (100km) to your west, to the Pic d’Anie in the southeast.

Today’s climb takes us up to the Col d’Urdanzia (872m), followed by the Munhoa peak (1023m), with a panoramic view of Basse-Navarre down below. We descend through green pastures to the town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, which is also the starting point for the Camino Francès, the most popular version of the Camino de Santiago.

Our trip finishes after breakfast.