Alto Aragón's Private Trips are ideal for walking clubs, groups of friends and families. You can choose your dates, activities, routes and type of accommodation to suit your wishes and budget. If you have a trip in mind we can make it a reality without you having to do the legwork of organizing and booking etc.

Price & Quality
Private trips often work out cheaper than our programmed holidays as we can apply group discounts and choose accommodation to fit your budget.

We provide high quality holidays, well planned and run. We don't leave anything to chance and never lose sight of the fact that you are on holiday to have fun doing what you enjoy most.

What sort of trips can we organize?
We've organized many trips for walking clubs, for groups of friends who wanted to do something special without being part of a bigger group and for families wanting to combine walking with adventure activities and camping in magical spots of the Pyrenees.

Either book one of our programmed walking or trekking trips (dates to suit you) or let us know your requirements and preferences and we will put together a trip to suit.

Who do private trips suit?...

Walking/Mountain Clubs
We have plenty of experience in running club walking trips for groups of up to 50 people. Our local experience in the Pyrenees means we can choose the most suitable walks according to the abilities of the members of a group e.g. on each walking day we can offer a demanding route for fitter people and have a gentler option for people wanting to take things more slowly. We can arrange accommodation to suit your budget.

Example Itineraries

1. THE HECHO VALLEY & THE ORDESA CANYON

2. THE ORDESA NATIONAL PARK

3. SPRING WALKING BREAK IN THE PYRENEAN FOOTHILLS

Families
Organise a trip that both parents and children will love. As well as exploring the mountains we can arrange adventure activities - rafting, climbing, vias ferratas (high level footpaths), kayaking etc. Accommodation possibilities range from wild camping to 5 star hotels.

Groups of Friends
If you and your friends want to arrange a trek, a weekend break, a challenging climb of the highest peaks of the Pyrenees or adventure sports, we can organize a trip tailor-made to your requirements. Let us know what you would like to do and we'll do the rest.

Example Itinerary

1. WESTERN PYRENEES TREK

Special Interest Trips
We can organize group holidays with the emphasis on your particular interests. During our 14 years in the Pyrenees we have run successful trips for birders, botanists, and architecture and history enthusiasts. These trips can either be with a guide expert in your particular interest or, if you prefer, you can travel independently according to your requirements.

Booking
E-mail or telephone Richard Cash with your requirements and we will put together a proposal for you. The further in advance we arrange the trip the better but if you have a last minute plan we may well be able to help.

Please note that complicated plans are feasible but take time to put together so we may charge a fee (put against your holiday payment) for this.

THE HECHO VALLEY & THE ORDESA CANYON

This was a very successful trip for the Bank of Ireland Walking Club run in October 2007.

DAY 1
Arrive Biarritz 16:15. Transfer to Hecho (3 hours). Check into your hotel. Hecho is well worth exploring and there are some nice short walks in and around the village. Dinner is at 9.00pm so it is worth having a drink and some tapas in a village bar to keep your strength up.

DAY 2
A stunning circular walk which explores a side valley beneath Bisaurin (2669m) before climbing through alpine pasture and along a high ridge with unforgettable views.

Height gain 600m. Distance 15km. Approx. 6 hours.

DAY 3
We walk up to the beautiful Ibon (lake) de Acherito set in its cirque of jagged rocks. From the lake we head up to the border ridge with France for some amazing views before walking down the Acherito valley through alpine meadows. This valley is, for us, the loveliest in the Pyrenees.

Height gain 700m. Distance 18km. Approx. 7 hours.

DAY 4
To the Ansó valley to climb Pico Petrechema (2360m) which dominates the border with its famous Aiguilles (needles) d'Ansabere. We return to the starting point along a hanging valley with great views and ancient, gnarled pines growing from the cliffs. A superb walk through classic limestone scenery.

Height gain 1100m. Distance 18km. Approx. 8 hours.

DAY 5
Drive to Torla (1½ hours) to do a classic walking circuit of the Ordesa Canyon following old hunters paths 600m above the canyon floor to the head of the Valley below Monte Perdido to then follow the river with its raging waterfalls back down the valley through alpine meadows and shady beech forest. Flowers, wild animals and rare birds of prey are plentiful here in Europe's oldest national park. This is an unmissable highlight of the Pyrenees. Return to Hecho for the night.

Height gain 600m. Distance 20km. Approx 8 hours.

DAY 6
Drive west towards Biarritz stopping on the way to walk the amazing Foz de Arbayun gorge with its towering cliffs and Europe's biggest Griffon vulture colony. Continue to Biarritz to catch the 16:40 flight to Dublin.

Price: £385.00 per person. Price includes: All transfers and transport, English speaking guides, 5 nights in an excellent 2 star hotel (good en-suite rooms) with breakfast and dinner (wine included), excellent picnics, 5 guided walks. You only need to spend money on drinks (but not on wine at dinner) and on souvenirs.

THE ORDESA NATIONAL PARK

A National Park for nearly a century, the Ordesa mountain sanctuary is justifiably the most famous area of the Pyrenees with its breathtaking canyons, high peaks and pristine flora and fauna. The walks around the Ordesa Canyon, Añisclo Canyon and surrounding valleys show you the classic highlights and some wonderful, secret parts of the National Park.

Our base for this weekend is Torla, the gateway to the National Park, a pretty mountain village 2 hours drive from Zaragoza Airport. We stay in an excellent 2 star hotel in the centre of the village.

DAY 1
Arrive Biarritz. Transfer to Hecho (3 hours). Take a short introductory walk taking in the beautiful lower section of the Ordesa valley. The scenery is truly grandiose.

DAY 2
A short drive brings us to the Añisclo Canyon which we explore by following old shepherd and village tracks through an amazing landscape of 900m cliffs, high grassy plateaux and along the base of the canyon following the raging torrent of the Bellos River.

DAY 3
A classic walking circuit of the Ordesa Canyon following old hunters' paths 3000ft above the valley floor to the head of the Valley below Monte Perdido to then follow the river with its spectacular waterfalls back down the valley through alpine meadows and shady beech forest. Flowers, wild animals and rare birds of prey are plentiful here in Europe's oldest national park. This is an unmissable highlight of the Pyrenees.

Height gain 650m. Distance 20km. Approx. 8 hours.

DAY 4
Return to the Airport for your return flight.

Price: £315.00 per person. Extra days £74.60 per person. (Minimum group size 4 people. We reduce prices for larger groups.) Price includes: All transfers and transport during the weekend, English speaking guides, 3 nights in an excellent 2 star hotel (good en-suite rooms, swimming pool) with breakfast and dinner (wine included), excellent picnics, 3 guided walks. You will only need to spend money on drinks (but not on wine at dinner) and on souvenirs.

SPRING WALKING BREAK IN THE PYRENEAN FOOTHILLS

DAY 1 Pick up at Barcelona Airport (am).
Transfer to Colungo in the Sierra de Guara (3 hours driving). Guara is a fabulous protected area of hills, limestone outcrops, spectacular canyons and hilltop villages and olive and almond groves. As well as excellent walking and outstanding flora and wildlife this magical part of the Pyrenean Foothills has much evidence of its moorish past and ancient cave paintings in the canyons testify to human presence here up to 40,000 years ago. Colungo and nearby Alquézar are lovely, rural villages.

DAY 2 Hotel in Guara BLD
Walking from the village, our route winds through deep gorges, over a roman bridge, past cave settlements dating back 17,000 years, through a sierra farming village famous for its honey and to the beautiful village of Alquézar which is well worth exploring. The imposing canyon walls, the unearthly blue of the rivers and the heady aroma of wild rosemary, thyme and juniper make this an atmospheric and spectacular day's walk.

DAY 3 Hotel in Guara BLD
We drive North to the High Pyrenees to explore the amazing Añisclo Canyon - part of the Ordesa National Park - with its raging river, azure blue pools ancient forest and 600m high vertical canyon walls. We walk up to a promontory with fabulous views over-looking the Canyon and continue climbing along the top of the canyon before descending down a gully to the base of the towering cliffs. An idyllic walk down valley brings us to the end of the canyon from where we walk back up to our starting point.

DAY 4 Hotel in Guara BLD
A stunning walk in the Mascún canyon - for many the highlight of the Sierra de Guara with its incredible rock formations, a 4000 year old dolmen, scores of soaring vultures and perhaps a lammergeier and, with luck, a golden eagle. You pass a fascinating abandoned village and enjoy some stunning views into the canyon and up to the snowy peaks of the High Pyrenees.

DAY 5 Hotel in Guara BLD
We walk from the base of the Sierra into the steep sided Cañon de San Martin de La Val d'Onsera. Up cliffside paths following the route used by medieval monks who built and lived in a magically situated hermitage built under a rock overhang far from any settlement in the base of a canyon. The medieval kings of Aragón used to come here on pilgrimage when they wanted to produce an heir to the throne. Afterwards we go up to the top of the sierra for fabulous 360° views and head downhill via a different route.

DAY 6 Hotel in Guara BLD
Accommodation is in the Mesón, a friendly, family run hotel with excellent traditional cooking in its restaurant (a personal favourite for years).

DAY 7
Transfer to Barcelona for the flight home.

The walks are all spectacular on average about 17km with height gains of between 400 and 600m (optional 900m climb on day 3). Walks take between 6 and 8 hours. We walk through amazing limestone canyons, up to magical medieval hermitages, discover amazing rock formations and explore ancient villages. Most of the paths are good but they can be rough underfoot sometimes.

Price: £450.00 per person. Price includes: All transfers and transport during the holiday, English speaking guides, 6 nights in an excellent 2 star hotel with breakfast and dinner (wine included), excellent picnics, 4 guided walks. You will only need to spend money on drinks (but not on wine at dinner) and on souvenirs.

B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner

WESTERN PYRENEES TREK

One week staying in hotels and one night in a mountain hut. This itinerary was put together (August 2007) for a group of six friends who have walked together for 30 years and enjoy a good solid trek without having to renounce a good hotel and dinner at the end of each day's walk.

DAY 1 Hotel in Ansó
Pick up from Zaragoza Airport. Transfer to Ansó (3 hours).

DAY 2 Hotel in Ansó
Walk from Belagoa (north of Isaba) to Linza at the head of the Ansó Valley. The walk takes you through stunning limestone (Karst) scenery with ancient beech forest lower down and then alpine pasture. An optional peak to climb is the Mesa de Los Tres Reyes (2444m) on the border with France. You come to a pass 1906m from where you descend to Linza (1330m) drive to the hotel in Ansó (30 minutes drive) for the night. Height gain 500m (without doing the peak).

DAY 3 Hotel in Ansó
A choice of day walks in the Ansó Valley. Possibilities include doing one of the border peaks - Acherito 2362m - Petrechema 2360m. About 1000m ascent for either peak. Easier options are also possible. Return to the hotel in Ansó for the night.

DAY 4 Hotel in Hecho
Follow the Pyrenean high route from Linza - a stunning walk west over the Col de Petrechema into France for brilliant views of the Aiguilles (needles) d'Ansabere. Return to Spain by a dramatic path before walking down the beautiful Acherito Valley to the roadhead at the top of the Hecho Valley. A short ride down-valley (15 minutes) brings you to the village of Hecho and your hotel. Height gain 800m, descent 700m.

DAY 5 Hut in Arlet (France) or hotel in Hecho
From the head of the Hecho Valley you follow the course of the Roman road up to the border with France (1942m) then you follow the border ridge to the Refuge d'Arlet magically situated by a beautiful glacial lake. If you didn't want to spend a night in the hut you could do a slightly different version of this walk and return to Hecho for the night. 900m ascent.

DAY 6 Hotel in Hecho
From Arlet you cross back into France and descend to the magical Aguas Tuertas Valley. From here you walk up to a stunning Estanes tarn and into the Valle de Los Sarrios with its impressive Cirque. Descend to Lizara at the head of the Aragües Valley and drive to the hotel in Hecho (half an hour drive). Height gain 656m. Height loss 1298m.

DAY 7 Hotel in Hecho
Walk from Lizara (half an hour drive from the hotel in Hecho) to Gabardito in the Hecho Valley. This is a beautiful walk beneath the huge limestone mass of Peak Bisaurin (2670m). Options include doing the Bisaurin peak or doing a great ridge walk before descending to Gabardito. Height gain 500m, height loss 600m. Then drive down to the hotel in Hecho.

DAY 8
Transfer to Zaragoza Airport (2 hours).