Pyrenees Attractions

Roughly a third of their area lies within France, with the French-Spanish frontier generally following the crest of the range. With peaks rising to over 3,000 m/9,800ft, the Pyrenees fall little short of the Alps in grandeur.

Geologically the Pyrenees, extending over an area 450km/280mi long by about 100km/60mi across, are a relatively young range of folded mountains consisting of schists (interrupted by gneiss and granite) and limestones, with a summit ridge of fairly uniform height and high-altitude passes. The summit regions show the effects of glacier action in their trough-shaped valleys and cirques, the best known of which is the Cirque de Gavarnie, and still have areas of névé and small glaciers, since the snow line on the north side is only just under 3,000 m/9,800ft. In contrast to the dry and therefore relatively bare slopes on the Spanish side, the French slopes support extensive forests (beech, oak and chestnut), increasing towards the west.

Geographically the range is divided by two deeper passes into the Western, Central and Eastern Pyrenees. The Western Pyrenees are hills of medium height with great expanses of fine deciduous forest and mountain pastures and wide valleys suitable for agriculture. From the Atlantic they rise through the Basque country, with the pass of Roncesvalles (1,207 m/ 3,960ft), to the Col de Somport (1,631 m/5,351ft) and reach a height of 2,504 m/8,216ft in the Pic d'Anie. From the Col de Somport to the Col de Puymorens (1,915 m/6,283ft) extend the Central Pyrenees, which on the Spanish side rise to 3,404 m/11,169ft in the Maledetta group (Pico de Aneto). The Eastern Pyrenees descend gradually from the Col de Puymorens and Col de Perche (1,610 m/5,282ft) towards the Mediterranean coast, divided by the longitudinal valley of the Tech into a northern range reaching its highest point in Le Canigou (2,785 m/9,138ft) and a southern range with Puigmal (2,912 m/9554ft), in Spanish territory, as its highest peak.

The Pyrenees extends over a number of different climatic zones. In the west is the lush green Basque country, in the east the pinewoods and scrub forests of the Mediterranean with its generally drier climate, in the north is a region of mixed forest, hills and plains, and in the middle are the rugged high peaks. Characteristic of the Pyrenees are its numerous lakes, waterfalls, gorges and hot and mineral springs. In the high- altitude National Park of the Pyrenees rare plants grow and endangered species of animals live in peace.

Though still attracting relatively few foreign tourists, the Pyrenees have much to offer the visitor - the magnificence of their mountains and valleys, the beautiful footpaths and long-distance trails, the hills to be climbed and the rock faces to be scaled, the endless scope for water sports of all kinds on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts and the numerous rivers and lakes, the many holiday resorts with their facilities for sport (golf, tennis, etc.) and entertainment and, in season, for winter sports.

An ideal way of discovering the attractions of the Pyrenees is to follow the Route des Pyrénées, which runs for over 700km/435mi from Argelès-sur- Mer on the Mediterranean coast to St Jean de Luz on the Atlantic, with plenty of opportunities for side trips.

The best time of year for a visit to the Pyrenees is from about the middle of May, since earlier in the year, depending on snow conditions, the highest passes, in particular the Col d'Aubisque (1,710 m/5,611ft) and the Col du Tourmalet (2,115 m/6,939ft), may be closed.

Although there are no large cities in the Pyrenees, there are a number of considerable towns like Pau, Lourdes and the industrial town of Tarbes. There are also numerous holiday resorts, a variety of spas and a number of winter sports resorts.

Evidence of prehistoric settlement in the Pyrenees was provided by the caves at Aurignac (22km/14mi from St- Gaudens), which gave its name to the Aurignacian culture. In historical times the region was occupied by Ligurians and later (sixth C. onwards) by Iberians. Between 60 and 50 B.C. it was conquered by the Romans. An Iberian tribe advanced through the Pyrenees and settled in Gascony, but the Basques remained in the western Pyrenees and have preserved to this day their cultural independence and their language, on both the French and the Spanish sides of the mountains. The French Basque country lies in the western part of the département of Pyrénées- Atlantiques, with Bayonne as the principal town. The eastern part of the département, also predominantly occupied by Basques, was the old Merovingian County of Béarn, which came under the control of Gascony in the seventh C., was united with Foix and Navarre (now Spanish) in 1290 and was incorporated in France in 1589.

To the east of the Basque country, in Gascony, is the territory of the old County of Bigorre, occupied in antiquity by a Celtic tribe, the Bigerriones, whose chief town was Bigorra or Turba (Tarbes). Bigorre remained independent from the ninth to the end of the 13th C., when it passed to the Counts of Foix. In 1607, along with the rest of Foix, it became French. It now forms the département of Hautes-Pyrénées (chief town Tarbes).

Farther east again is the former County of Foix, originally a fief of the Counts of Toulouse, which passed by inheritance to Henry IV of France in the 16th C. and now forms the département of Ariège (chief town Foix). At the eastern end of the Pyrenees, between them and the Monts Corbières, is the former County of Roussillon, which belonged to Spain from the 12th to the 17th C. and still has Catalan as its language in addition to French. It is now the département of Pyrénées-Orientales, with Perpignan as its chief town.