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Flora and fauna of the Basque Country, 7-day Guided hiking tour from Bilbao
Join Pablo, your UIMLA-certified guide, as he takes you on this 7-day guided hiking tour exploring the flora and fauna of the Basque Country, a world-famous region known for its diverse natural beauty and spectacular landscapes and terrain.
Private
7 Days
All year
Open to everyone
First Time
Highlights
- Explore the vast and wonderfully diverse flora and fauna of the Basque Country!
- Whale watch in the Bay of Biscay from the town of Bermeo
- Visit the myriad of wetlands, lagoons and waterways
- See the countless species of flora and fauna all around the region
Description
I will guide you on this fun and special 7-day hike discovering the flora and fauna of the Basque Country, where we will run the full gamut of its jaw-dropping natural beauty, from whale watching in the ocean, to lush green forests and plains, to majestic and huge mountains and an amazing variety of animal and plant species.
The Basque Country is an autonomous region located in the North of Spain, with Bilbao its largest city. It has its down distinct language and a fiercely rich and proud sense of identity distinct from Spain itself, and contains a wild variety of flora and fauna, with several micro-climates across the region.
We meet on the first day by transferring from Bilbao Airport to our B & B country house.
The second day is spent whale watching from the quaint and idyllic town of Bermeo, a slice of paradise on the Bay of Biscay.
The subsequent 3 days are spent hiking, trekking and walking around the postcard-pretty countryside, as we discover the myriad of farms, caves and forests that dot the region, each with their own distinctive flowers orchids and plants. The Urdaibai biosphere reserve and area of Gorbea are particularly impressive highlights.
If we are lucky we will encounter animals such as deer, vultures and countless species of birds, and the Urkiola Mountains loom large over many settings.
The final few days are spent birdwatching and visiting the famous La Guardia Lagoons, before we head back to Bilbao on the last day with a head full of brilliant memories and a newfound appreciation for this exquisite part of the world.
This trip around the Basque Country will provide memories to last a lifetime – book now to experience!
Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer
Transfer from Bilbao airport to accommodation in B&B country house in Urdaibai. Time permitting, a visit to Ogoño or the tidal flats may be organized additionally.
Day 2: Whale watching
Whale watching out of Bermeo in the morning and a visit to Gernika or tidal flats in the afternoon. Time of year, state of tides and availability of whale watching boat all need to be taken into account.
Day 3: Trekking
Trekking in Urkiola completing a route designed to end in a country house where lodgings are to be found for the night, not before a visit to Alluitz Natura, where visitors are shown local farming traditions and methods.
Day 4: Excursion
Excursion around Gorbea until Itxina, time permitting visiting the caves of Baltzola or Jentilzubi. Accommodation in previous night’s lodgings.
Day 5: Birdwatching
Birdwatching, mainly necrophagous,in Unza. Afternoon visit to the Abornikano oak forest in Urkabustaiz. Transfer and accommodation to La Guardia in the afternoon.
Day 6: Lagoons
Visit to La Guardia Lagoons and enjoy the experience of an afternoon lunch in Casaprimicia.
Day 7: Finish
Return and tour of Bilbao, Vitoria or Salburua on the way back.
Details
Accommodation B & B country house in Urdaibai |
Meeting point Bilbao Airport |
Photos
About the guide
Pablo is original from the Bay of Biscay, so that makes him a passionate ocean lover, but close enough to the nearest Basque, Pyrenees and Cantabrian Mountains to be able to enjoy them while climbing, ski touring or hiking.
Pablo has traveled and works in some of the most thrilling mountain ranges in Earth, but he reminds that those ones close to home are his favorite ones.
A high biodiversity makes the north of the Iberian Peninsula an unbeatable place, where to discover whales in the morning, head some alpine peaks in the afternoon, and delight a fine red wine watching the sunset at the prairies in the late evening. This intense two hours’ drive is not only fulfilled with stunning species of flora and fauna, but also with a vast amount of cultural and gastronomical heritage, that Pablo would love to share with you.
He is particularly keen on birds and wild flowers, but he is also very knowledgeable about large mammals, surfing, kayaking and fly fishing, as well as he knows pretty well some of the best hikes in the north. Other destinations such as Alaska, Canada, Patagonia, Greenland and New Zealand are also well known for him.
Please feel free to contact with Pablo for any enquire and he would be joy to reply you as soon as possible!
What people are saying about Explore-Share
Teodora Jugrin
5.00
Nov 19, 2021
I had a very good experience booking the hike through Explore-Share. Communication with the team was prompt and clear and the booking process was seamless. The trip itself was also just perfect. Uroš was a fantastic guide, highly skilled and talented. The hike felt safe at all times, even on more exposed routes, thanks to him. He was always up to date on the weather forecast and planned the days around it, checked the conditions on the route ahead of me, if needed, discussed and adapted the routes to my level and always made sure I was safe and comfortable. I highly recommend him, as well as Explore-Share.
SG
5.00
Oct 25, 2021
Explore Share is a really usefull website that has a great overview of reviewed guides for a (in our case) hiking/climbing trip. During the booking I got assigned an assistent for Explore Share that helped solve questions that I might have. Great customer service, and I will come back again.
Dan Laufer
5.00
Oct 17, 2021
Explore-share was easy to use and the staff and guide w ere very responsive. The trip descriptions were accurate and the pricing reasonable. I would definitely recommend the site for people looking to do guided hiking.
Mac
5.00
Oct 13, 2021
Excellent!! Great guide and service. I had a very good experience. Id do it again.
Amanda Gardner
4.00
Sep 14, 2021
Guide was very experienced and very patient with us. We learned a lot and he tried to fit in all the knowledge he could in one day, super awesome. A little tough going back and forth to get the trip set up hard to tell if the site is sketchy until you see reviews but all worked out. Ended up with an awesome day with an awesome guide. Overall pretty satisfied and thankful!
Meret Schädler
5.00
Sep 14, 2021
The whole experience was great! The customer service of explore-share was really good. I always got an answer very quick. I would absolutely recommend to use explore-share if you are looking for a great guide in a foreign country. 5 stars!
john mcevoy
4.00
Sep 10, 2021
What a trip, fantastic guide who picked me up and dropped me off. Would use again.
Catherine Derroitte
5.00
Aug 25, 2021
It's the 2nd time we have been booking with Explore-Share. The booking was super easy and both Explore-Share and the guide were fast in their responses. We did rafting as a family with 3 kids for the first time in Slovenia. The guide (José) was super nice. He was doing everything he could to make everyone at ease with rafting (he gave clear explanations), have a great team spirit (we were joined by 2 other girls) and have a good time. We had lots of fun and the nature there is so beautiful. Thank you Explore-share and Soca splash for the great afternoon! I would recommend this activity to anyone without a doubt. My kids immediately told me they want to do rafting again soon !"
Aditya Kumar Jha
5.00
Aug 2, 2021
Best platform for mountain sports services. Easy to use, great personalised service and support.
Ibolya Kovacs
5.00
Jul 5, 2021
I am very pleased to have booked with this group. All of my mails have been answered in no-time, I felt really safe on the rock and the atmosfere of the whole group helped a lot not to mind about stressing. Will be back for more!
Prices per person
Group of 1 | EUR 176 Each |
Want a different number of travellers?
Price includes
- Guiding fee
Price details
Guided service is 170 Euros+VAT total per day for a group of up to 6 people.
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