Pyrenees High Route Photo Gallery: 50 Stunning Images from the HRP
The Pyrenees High Route (HRP) is one of the best options for anyone seeking a long-distance thru-hike in Europe. Straddling the France-Spain border, the HRP follows the Pyrenees through diverse terrain from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Mediterranean Sea in the east.
All I had to go on as far as what to expect on my hike was two brief overnight trips into the Pyrenees (from the French side) I had made in the past few years. These trips were enough to convince me that I wanted to come back and see more of it, and I am incredibly glad that I did.
The HRP didn’t turn out exactly as I expected, but it was a challenging thru-hike and was different enough from what I have grown accustomed to in the Western United States to keep things interesting. What follows is a collection of photographs from my HRP thru-hike (completed west to east across a month in the fall, beginning September 13).
All photos are arranged in geographical order, and there is at least one from every day of the hike. I hope this gives some idea of what hikers can expect on the HRP. If you’re a prospective HRP hiker and find that any of elements of the hike are missing from the photos below, please leave a comment or get in touch to let me know. If I agree with you (and if the image is available), I’ll add it to the gallery.
Awesome photos! So the HRP huts are not staffed like in other parts of Europe? And no privies – is it just a mess around all the huts? How crowded was it during your trek? so many questions…
There are staffed huts, as well as plenty of unstaffed shelters.
I’ve started a series covering them all; you can find Part 1 here: https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/trails/haute-randonnee-pyreneenne/guide-hrp-huts-shelters-lodging-part-1/
Didn’t see too much mess around the shelters as far as catholes or toilet paper goes (fortunately). Perhaps everyone holds on until reaching a staffed hut, or maybe everyone is just better at LNT in the Pyrenees.
Not too crowded in September – only shared an unstaffed shelter once.