The Rough Guide to the Pyrenees, Fifth Edition (Paperback)

~ Marc Dubin (Author) "Air travel to Pyrenean foothill airports has been revolutionized since the late 1990s with the provision of year-round directs flights by a number of no-frills,..." (more)
Key Phrases: wait for the international tone, staffed refuge, turismos rurales, New Zealand, Sant Joan, Santa Maria (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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"Setting the standard ... Dubin's guide is jam-packed with detail ... The Travel Online International herald Tribune "A cornucopia of advice on how to make the Web work for you."

Product Description

Introduction to the Pyrenees

Anyone could find their perfect retreat in the Pyrenees, a range encompassing a diversity of landscapes rarely equalled in Europe. Between balmy Mediterranean beaches and the more turbulent Atlantic coast lie lush meadowland, snow-clad peaks, canyons of sinuously sculpted rock, dense broadleaf forest, weirdly eroded limestone pinnacles and sheer, overgrown valleys that get perhaps two hours of sun daily. These mountains challenge and invite rather than intimidate. Generally rounded and crumbling, their peaks – including 3404-metre Aneto, the highest Pyrenean summit, plus the next-ranking peaks of Posets, Monte Perdido and Vignemale – are attainable by any determined and properly equipped walker, even with little experience of such terrain. Other natural wonders beckon to the averagely fit: the Valle de Ordesa, most spectacular of many canyons, can be traversed on gentle footpaths, as can the great glaciated amphitheatre of the Cirque de Gavarnie just north. The stalactite-draped cavern of Lombrives is the largest cave in Western Europe open to the public, while the Sala de la Verna in one of the world’s deepest cave systems – the Gouffre Pierre-Saint-Martin – requires no great physical effort. You can raft down various foaming rivers on both sides of the range, including the Noguera Pallaresa in Catalunya and the Gállego in Aragón, as well as several tamer ones on the French side. Canyoners of all ability levels are well catered to in the "pre-Pyrenean" Sierra de Guara, also in Spanish Aragón.

Walking the Pyrenees from end to end has become a classic endeavour. Thousands have followed the Haute Randonnée Pyrénéenne (HRP) to either side of the watershed; the more circuitous but less demanding Grande Randonnée 10 (GR10) entirely within France; or the equally spectacular Spanish Gran Recorrido 11 (GR11). Detailed maps for the entire range show numerous other, briefer itineraries, suitable for hikers at all levels.

Pyrenean wildlife is exceptionally rich, despite the devastating impact of human activity on many species. Deer and wild boar hide in the forests, and in certain dense woodlands a dwindling number of brown bear still manage to survive. In contrast, the ubiquitous isard (Pyrenean chamois) abounds, as do shy wildcats; marmots are plentiful (and audible); while majestic birds of prey patrol the skies. The capercaillie, a bird now extinct in the French Alps, still (just) survives in the Pyrenees, while the tiny desman, an aquatic mole, is unknown elsewhere in Western Europe, except the Picos de Europa.

Traces of human habitation in the Pyrenees predate recorded history by millennia, with artefacts found (and displayed) at various caves in the Ariège, the Couserans and the Comminges regions. Among the prehistoric caves around Tarascon-sur-Ariège, the paintings in the Grotte de Niaux rank as the best open to public view worldwide.

Hundreds of extraordinary Romanesque churches and monasteries constitute the Pyrenees’ architectural highlights, including such renowned examples as Saint-Martin-de-Canigou, Serrabone, Santa Maria de Ripoll, Sant Climent de Taüll and a host of others in the Vall de Boí, Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, San Juan de la Peña, and Saint-Engrâce in the Haute-Soule. So-called "Roman" bridges still linking isolated villages are even older, though not always pre-Christian. In the west of the range, numerous monuments attest to the thousands during the Middle Ages who followed the pilgrimage trail to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia via the fabled Puerto de Ibañeta near Roncesvalles, or the nearby Col du Somport. From the Mediterranean to the Ariège, the strength of the Cathar heresy is reflected in many immensely evocative ruined castles, notably the crag-top citadel of Montségur, site of this faith’s effective extinction.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 5 Sub edition (September 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843531968
• ISBN-13: 978-1843531968
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #233,544 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to using this guide in France., February 2, 2001

By	Saffron (Bend, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pyrenees: A Rough Guide, Third Edition (Pyrenees (Rough Guide), 3rd ed) (Paperback)

Marc Dubins rough guide is a detailed and interesting book. He concentrates on the areas close to the mountains and gives interesting descriptions of small villages as well as larger resorts and towns. He includes recommended walks and rates the ski resorts. He assumes you will be walking or on public transport and so does not cover many hamlets and villages only reachable by car. Overall a very thorough book that I am sure will be invaluble on our trip there.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, August 28, 2007

By	M. Ganz - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I did a trip to the Pyrenees a year ago (hiking and traveling) , and this book helped me a lot (both in and out of the hikes).
Very useful, informative & accurate and quite essential to my opinion.
I used it together with Trekking in the Pyrenees, 3rd: France & Spain Trekking Guides (Trailblazer)
and I find them both to complete each other.

I just saw that it has a new 6th edition, so maybe that's a bit better, but never the less I highly recommend on it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Useful, October 25, 2008

By	Susan O. (Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to the Pyrenees 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

My friend and I spent two weeks in the Pyrenees and the surrounding region in Southeastern France in the fall of 2008. We brought three guidebooks but this one by far was the most useful, with detailed information about the small towns in the region that are off the beaten tourist track. We referred to this guide constantly.