Holidays Pyrenees

Holidays Pyrenees

Many tourists like to go on vacation to the mountain range of the region, to go skiing or to see the towns and cities and culture of the region. Some may want to see the landscapes and views. Some may want to see the society and culture of the mountain range. Some tourists may want to see the wildlife and landscapes of the famous mountain range.

Some tourists may want to visit the mountain range to see the landscapes, ski resorts and culture of the region. Some tourists may want to see the great mountains of the region or to see sports matches in the region.

The Pyrenees (Spanish: Pirineos; French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés; Basque: Pirinioak) are a range of mountains in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extend for about 430 km from the Bay of Biscay (Cap Higuer) to the Mediterranean Sea (Cap de Creus).

For the most part, the main crest forms a massive divider between France and Spain, with the tiny country of Andorra sandwiched in between. Catalonia and the Basque Country are the human cultural regions that extend on both sides of the mountain range, with a northern and a southern part on each side.

According to the Greek mythology the Pyrenees are named after Pyrene (fire in Greek) the daughter of Bebryx who was supposedly raped by Herakles. Terrified by having given birth to a serpent, she fled to the mountains and was either buried or eaten by wild animals. Herodotus placed the setting of this mythological legend on his map of the Oikumene as early as 450 BC.

Physiograpically, the Pyrenees are typically divided into three sections: the Atlantic (or Western), the Central, and the Eastern Pyrenees. Together, they form a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System division.
Pico del Aneto, the highest mountain of the Pyrenees.

The Central Pyrenees extend westward from the Aran Valley to the Somport pass to the east, and they include the highest summits of this range:

Pico d'Aneto or Pic de Néthou 3,404 metres in the Maladeta ridge,
Posets peak 3,375 metres,
Mont Perdu or Monte Perdido or Mont Perdut 3,355 metres.

In the Western Pyrenees the average elevation gradually increases from the west to the east, from the Basque mountains near the Bay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean. In the Eastern Pyrenees, with the exception of one break at the eastern extremity of the Pyrénées Ariégeoises, the mean elevation is maintained with remarkable uniformity until a sudden decline occurs in the portion of the chain known as the Albères.

Politically, the Spanish Pyrenees are part of the following provinces, from east to west: Girona, Barcelona, Lleida, Huesca, Navarra, and Guipúzcoa.

The French Pyrenees are also part of the following départements, from east to west: Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques (the latter two of which include Pyrenees National Park).

The independent principality of Andorra is sandwiched in the eastern portion of the mountain range between the Spanish Pyrenees and French Pyrenees.

Conspicuous features of Pyrenean scenery are:

the absence of great lakes, such as those that fill the lateral valleys of the Alps
the rarity and great elevation of passes
the large number of the mountain torrents locally called gaves, which often form lofty waterfalls, surpassed in Europe only by those of Scandinavia
the frequency with which the upper end of a valley assumes the form of a semicircle of precipitous cliffs, called a cirque.

The highest waterfall is that of Gavarnie, at the head of the Gave de Pau; the Cirque de Gavarnie, in the same valley, is perhaps the most famous example of the cirque formation. Low passes are lacking, and the principal roads and the railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees, near sea level. Between the two ends of the range, the only two passes worth mentionings are the Col de la Perche, between the valley of the Têt and the valley of the Segre, and the Col de Somport or Port de Canfranc, where there were old Roman roads, but apparently, no modern highways.

A notable visual feature of this mountain range is La Brèche de Roland, a gap in the ridge line, which in legands was created by Roland.

The ethnology, folklore, institutions and history of the Pyrenean region form an interesting study: see Andorra; Aragon; Ariege; Basque Country; Béarn; Catalonia; Navarre; Roussillon. For their history, see also Almogavars, Marca Hispanica.

Languages spoken in the area are, notably, Spanish, French, Catalan (in Catalonia and Andorra), and the Basque language. Also spoken, in a minor extent, are the Occitan language (the Gascon and Languedocien dialects in France and the Aranese dialect in the Aran Valley), and Aragonese.

Ski resorts

Ski resorts in the Pyrenees include or have included:

Alp 2500, Arette, Astún, Artouste, Ax-les-Thermes, Baqueira-Beret, Bareges-La Mongie (Tourmalet), Luz Ardiden, Bourg-d'Oueil, Cauterets, Candanchú, Cerler, Espot Esquí, Font-Romeu, Formigal, Gourette, Guzet-neige, Hautacam, La Pierre Saint Martin, Le Mourtis, Les Angles, Luchon-Superbagnères, Luz-Ardiden, Nistos cap nestes, Panticosa-Los Lagos, Pas de la Casa, Peyragudes, Piau-Engaly, Port-Ainé, Somport, Superbagnères, Tavascan, Vall de Núria, Vallnord, Vallter 2000

Highest summits

Aneto (3,404 m)
Posets (3,375 m)
Monte Perdido (3,355 m)
Pic Maudit (3,350 m)
Cilindro de Marboré (3,328 m)
Pic de la Maladeta (3,308 m)
Vignemale (Pique Longue) (3,298 m)
Clot de la Hount (3,289 m)
Soum de Ramond (3,263 m)
Pic du Marboré (3,248 m)
Pic de Cerbillona (3,247 m)
Pic de Perdiguère (3,222 m)
Pic de Montferrat (3,220 m)
Pic Long (3,192 m)
Pic Schrader (Grand Batchimale) (3,177 m)
Pic de Campbieil (3,173 m)
Pic de la cascade orientale (3,161 m)

Pic Badet (3,160 m)
Pic du Balaïtous (3,144 m)
Pic du Taillon (3,144 m)
Pica d'Estats (3,143 m)
Punta del Sabre (3,136 m)
Pic de la Munia (3,134 m)
Pointe de Literole (3,132 m)
Pic des Gourgs Blancs (3,129 m)
Pic de Royo (3,121 m)
Pic des Crabioules (3,116 m)
Pic de Maupas (3,109 m)
Pic Lézat (3,107 m)
Pic de la cascade occidental (3,095 m)
Pic de Néouvielle (3,091 m)
Pic de Troumouse (3,085 m)
Pics d'Enfer (3,082 m)
Pic de Montcalm (3,077 m)

Grand pic d' Astazou (3,077 m)
Épaule du Marboré (3,073 m)
Pic du port de Sullo (3,072 m)
Pic des Spijeoles (3,066 m)
Pic de Quayrat (3,060 m)
Pic des Trois Conseillers (3,039 m)
Turon de Néouvielle (3,035 m)
Pic de Batoua (3,034 m)
Petit Vignemale (3,032 m)
Pic de Besiberri Sud (3,017 m)
Pic Ramougn (3,011 m)
Tour du Marboré (3,009 m)
Casque du Marboré (3,006 m)
Grande Fache (3,005 m)

Noted Summits below 3,000 meters

Pic de Palas (2,974 m)
Pic de Comapedrosa (2,942 m) - highest point of Andorra
Pic Carlit (2,921 m)
Puigmal (2,913 m)
Collarada (2,886 m)
Pic du Midi d'Ossau (2,885 m)
Pic du Midi de Bigorre (2,876 m)

Mont Valier (2,838 m)
Petit Pic du Midi d'Ossau (2,812 m)
Pic du Canigou (2,786 m)
Pic d'Anie (2,504 m)
Pic de Madrès (2,469 m)
Grande Aiguille d'Ansabère (2,376 m)
Pic du Soularac (2,368 m)

Pic du Saint Barthélémy (2,348 m)
Pic des Trois Seigneurs (2,199 m)
Pic d'Orhy (2,017 m)
Pic de Pedraforca (2,498 m)
La Rhune (905 m)

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