Thinking of doing a one week walking trip in Spain around late June. Day walks and overnighters. On a budget so camping, may need hire a car.
From my airport (Newcastle) I can get to The spanish pyreennes (Catalonia/Andorra) or Sierra Nevada Mountains Granada.
Don't want to buy a book yet until I have a better idea of where to go (tight ba***rd).
The guy i'm going with likes to tick off a few peaks (walking not climbing).
Mulhacen looks good for the Sierra Nevadas but cannot work out how to spin a week out of the area
As at lower altitudes it looks to hot to do lower peaks. Any other peaks good in June ?
For the the Pyrennes I am having trouble finding peaks that are walkable are there any? theres plenty valleys/passes,
Any advice appreciated.
Anybody got any good web links (spanish sites ok to, as speak a little espanol)
Any book reccomendations?
Cheers
Steve
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 Define peak? There are plenty of peaks in the Pyrenees - but in June you will probably need snow gear. Depending on how high you wish to go... The area around Mulhacen is great - a lot of variety...and some peaks; in a week (altitude and all) you could do a lot worse. Newcastle is my local airport too, so I have an 'idea' of where you might be headed.
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 Can you get to Bilbao or Santander? If so try the Picos de Europa. Plenty to do there for a week.
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yep the Picos look great but not in cheap flight range 
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Cheers for replies,
By peak I mean't ... top of a hill / mountain but not to pointy, I'm fine with basic scrambles(not winter) e.g Striding Edge to Helvellyn.
Have never used rope or crampons.
Mulhacen looks like it might be walkable end of June without Snow/Ice gear this is the sort of thing I was looking for. To tell the truth I'm fine with a bit of upland walking ,but the lad I'm going with likes to say he's bagged one. So was looking for walkable peaks in the Pyrenees that would not need Snow/Ice gear.
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You could save yourself a fortune by not bothering with a car and doing some walking on the HRP - basically a notional path along the French Spanish border. Start from Lescun in June and chances are you wouldn't struggle with too much snow. Lescun has a brilliant camp site which would be a good base - you can walk up from the bus in the valley down from Pau. You can get to Pau by Ryanair or alternatively take the train from Paris. There's several threads on the forum about the HRP.
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In the Pyrenees it is possible that you may need a bit of winter gear in June and certainly if you want to do any of the 3000 peaks. Last year in the first week of July I was putting crampons on at 2400 metres and yet 3 days ago in the height of winter I didn't need snowhoes or crampons until 2000 metres. If you don't want to take winter gear then go to the Sierra Nevada. There is definitely a weeks worth of walks and even if there is a little snow left (which I very much doubt) ther is an easy route up Mulhacen and the views across to Africa and the Atlas mountains can be fantastic. For books and maps try: www.tiendaverda.es they have lots of stuff www.editorialalpina.com www.prames.com www.sua-ediciones.com (initial page could be in basque) www.rando-editions.com
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 Hi, I have visited the Sierra Nevada in August & you are pretty much spot on with the weather you have Mulhacen & Veleta which will probably be the coolest areas. Also camping in Spain will probably be in the lower areas & pretty toasty. On the flip side accomodation tends to cheap ( if you can find someone open) as it's off season & you get real Tapas, thats free food with your beer.  Out of your choices I would head for Andorra/Catalunia for great scenery & a bit cooler. We tend to pass through Andorra most years at the end of July, last year it was pretty warm (camping). Haven't done any walking there but should be pretty good.
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| Edited: 21/01/11 16:56 |
Hello , Thanks for the replies , Have managed to do a bit more reseach. Google books http://books.google.com is an excellent, there are free books to read online. e.g. Walks and Climbs in the Pyrenees By Kev Reynolds Lonely Planet Hiking in Spain Free os type maps of the whole of Catalonia including geology/topograpyh/satellite, excellent site! http://www.icc.cat/vissir2/ Think its going to be Pyrenees, As noted by previous reply seems its a bit cooler than down south so better for lower level walks and camping Mountains also seems a tad more spectacular, maybe a bit more wildlife up there to. So starting to form plan to go to the 'Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park', and also either the Alt Pirineu Park or the CadÃ-Moixeró Natural Park, A good idea ? Cheers Steve
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| Edited: 26/01/11 14:03 |
In terms of sites for books you could try desnivel.com (problem is the postage is often painful). wikiloc is often good for people's suggestions of routes http://es.wikiloc.com/ As for places, it's all good. I have a yen to get myself to Ordesa (not quite Catalunya but stunning nevertheless).
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One of many possibilities is: flying into Barcelona with easyjet, bus from airport to Andorra, local bus to Arinsal, then you could walk up Comapedrosa (highest mt in Andorra) cross into the beautiful Ferrera valley on the GR 11, and walk or scamble up (2 options) Pica d'Etats, highest mt in Catalunya, and Montcalm just across the border (both 3000m+) and maybe Pic de Certascan too. Some nice unguarded huts (Baborte and especially Baiau) in stunning positions though can be busy in August if you fancy that, and great places to pitch a tent eg at Sotlo lake. There are guarded huts at Certascan, Val Ferrera and Comapedrosa for a beer or more.
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