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Epic Mountain Bike Holidays | Spain | Basque Country | Pyrenees
Backcountry Pyrenees Mountain Bike Holiday

Backcountry Pyrenees Mountain Bike Holiday


BACKCOUNTRY PYRENEES MOUNTAIN BIKE HOLIDAYS

The Wildest Pyrenees Mountain Biking Trails

The mountain biking across the Pyrenees is something special and the Spanish side is largely undiscovered by riders outside of Spain. Our Backcountry Pyrenees Mountain Bike Holiday draws on our experience to link up the best mountain bike trails in the Pyrenees, link together the best shuttles and put them together in this fantastic tour. Many trails are old walking paths linking ancient villages, long since deserted, and the rides have an epic feel as we venture into the real backcountry of the Pyrenees.

During this week’s mountain bike holiday we generally get around 15,000m of descending with around 2,000 – 3000m of climbing. Overall this trip is organised in a very similar way to our High Pyrenees holiday.


“What can I say, we’ll be back! Loved every minute of it.
Easily the best mountain bike holiday (or any holiday for that matter) that I’ve ever been on. In fifteen years on mountain bike holidays, this is the best by a country mile”

Steve (UK)


Sierra de Guara One Of Europe’s Least Populated Places

This mountain bike holiday will take you through Tremp, Ainsa (Zona Zero) and finally into Guara with a population density lower than Siberia. Guara is one of the hidden gems of the Pyrenees, with amazing trails which wind through some real wilderness. This is one of our favourite places to ride on the planet, just remember to bring your A-game.


The Rocky Flow Trails Of Tremp and La Pobla

One of the newer riding areas in Spain, the area around Tremp has quickly become a local favourite. Crazy rock slabs, amazing flow trails and mind-bending rock features. All linked together with our dedicated shuttles.


Put simply this is some of the best mountain biking available on the planet.



PHOTOS | BACKCOUNTRY PYRENEES MOUNTAIN BIKE HOLIDAY

(Click an image to see bigger photos)


Backcountry Pyrenees
Mountain Bike Holiday
Backcountry Pyrenees
1525
/person
  • 7 nights
    April – June
    6 days riding
    Flights from Barcelona – Please ask for details!
    15,000m descending, 3,000m climbing
    Breakfast, 2 lunches, 4 evening meals



DETAILS | BACKCOUNTRY PYRENEES MOUNTAIN BIKE HOLIDAY

Overview

What’s Included?

  • 7 Nights Accommodation
  • Breakfasts, 2 Packed Lunches & 4 Dinners
  • 6 Days Guiding
  • Transfers from San Sebastian or Biarritz Airport
  • Local Guides
  • All Shuttles and Van support
  • Guaranteed Single Room €300

 “Awesome, Professional, Some of the best biking anywhere in the world. Great overall package on and off the bike. Spectacular scenery and incredible trails. We’ll be back (again) for sure.”

Gav (UK)

Biking

What is the Biking Like in the Backcountry Pyrenees?


Having groups with similar levels is key to our mountain bike holidays and something we spend a lot of time sorting before you arrive.

Each week we aim to run two groups with a guide, driver, van and trailer each to allow people to choose the group which best suits their level.

Ride With Groups At Your Level

We rate our holidays for fitness and skill levels and, to find out more about how we do this and an overview of the grades we use, check out our mountain bike holiday skills and fitness guide.


Skill Level  

The terrain on our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike holiday is technical from the start. Expect long, rocky descents with exposure. This trip is only suitable for advanced to expert riders.

Fitness  

To enjoy our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike holiday you need a good level of fitness. Some climbs will be sustained and may require pushing or carrying. What is most tiring though are the descents.


The sort of rider who will get the most from this tour will be very comfortable on any of the trail centre trails in the UK and maybe already have tried the Basque Coast mountain bike holiday. This trip is very similar to our High Pyrenees tour.


Schedule

What Does A Backcountry Pyrenees Mountain Bike Holiday Look Like?


Backcountry Pyrenees Day 1 – Arrive to Barcelona or Bilbao and Transfer to Tremp

Travel is really easy. You have two choices for arrival.

  1. The easiest option is to fly to Barcelona. You need to arrive before around 13:00 on the 1st Saturday and we will organise a transfer to the first night in Tremp.
  2. Drive, take the ferry or train or fly to Bilbao, San Sebastian or Biarritz and we will pick everyone up and transfer them to our base. This option has a far longer transfer because from our base we have a few hours drive to the first stop near Tremp.

Backcountry Pyrenees Day 2 – Ride in Tremp, Stay in Tremp

The riding in Tremp and La Pobla is best described as a mixture of rock, flow and awe. Amazing spines, huge slabby rocks, brilliant trail building and amazing views will make sure you fall in love with this Pyrenees mountain bike gem.

As always on any of our trips there are dedicated, unlimited shuttles through the day to ensure you get to see all the best trails.


Backcountry Pyrenees Day 3 – Ride between Tremp and Castejón de Sos. Sleep in Castejón de Sos.

Carefully linking some amazing trails lets us mix shuttles and trails to enjoy some spectacular riding which takes us to our destination for tonight, at the foot of the Benasque valley. The trails today are mixed, wild and packed with fun.

You will be exhausted by the end of the day and tonight we enjoy a meal in the hotel and a drink before an early night.


Backcountry Pyrenees Day 4 – Ride between Benasque and Ainsa. Sleep in Ainsa.

Today we take a short transfer and ride in the area between Castejón and Ainsa, sampling some of the best trails in the area. We will have time to ride some of the amazing EWS trails in Ainsa.

Tonight we sleep in Ainsa and you can explore the old town and historic castle.


Backcountry Pyrenees Day 5 – Ride in Guara, Sleep in Guara.

This is the grande finale of our trip, the amazing, rocky riding in Guara. This is one of our favourite places on the planet to ride, big rocky features and one of the least populated places in Europe. Tonight we sleep in a lovely little reformed house, in a village with only 6 residents and big views of the mountains.

Highlight today will be the Guaso descent. One of the longest, most fun trails you will ride anywhere. It is never steep, winding through the foothills of Guara with the snow-topped Pyrenees as a constant backdrop.


Backcountry Pyrenees Day 6 – Ride in Guara and Stay in Guara

Another day in paradise! Today we spend another day shuttling in Guara. There are so many trails to ride that one day is not enough. We will go a little deeper, exploring the trails around Nocito, where you can be sure to find some favourite trails.

A highlight of today is the Horsemen trail, with it’s huge rock slabs and a series of hugely satisfying, technical switchbacks.

At the end of the day we will enjoy sitting in the little bar and having a drink while we watch the sun set over the Tozal de Guara.


Backcountry Pyrenees Day 7 – Ride in Guara, return to Ainsa

A final day in the mountain bike paradise of Guara! We will finish with an amazingly long descent taking us towards Ainsa. A short, scenic transfer takes us to Ainsa where you will spend the last night.


Backcountry Pyrenees Day 8 – Return To Barcelona

On Saturday morning we will transfer everyone back to Barcelona airport, ready to catch and afternoon flight home. Or if you want you can spend a night or two in Barcelona.


Accommodation

Accommodation

The accommodation we use for our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike holiday will be a mixture of high quality local bed and breakfasts, upmarket hostals and stunning, “rider owned” apartments, all chosen for their character and to keep us closest to the very best mountain bike trails.

All accomodation has secure bike storage. We will have definite WiFi 5 nights, (2 nights it depends on the weather) and we will have access to clothes washing facilities on two nights.

Eating

We pride ourselves on the high quality of eating that you will experience on our mountain bike holidays! We love to eat and also enjoy trying the good wines and we relish the chance to share the great traditional Spanish places that we have found with our guests. We can’t guarantee that you will lose weight on our trips!

We include two packed lunches and four evening meals, on other days lunches will cost around €10-15 each day and dinners will cost from €15 to €25 each night.

Calendar

This trip will run in May. For a detailed schedule please check out our calendar.

Reviews

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BasqueMTB
Average rating:  
 9 reviews
 by Tim Taylor
Authentic Backcountry Experience

The trip was fantastic from start to end. The guiding and standards of trails, food and accommodation were all perfect and made the backcountry experience totally authentic. Riding through abandoned villages and the terraced trails was incredibly memorable. And the guides and other guests made it too for me.

 by Jac Marquis
Solo Female Traveller

Riding holidays can sometimes be daunting for solo female travellers, but the guides worked hard to bring the group together and make sure all guests were included and had fun. The guides, the hosts at the accommodation and the other riders were all very inclusive and welcomed and encouraged all of us.

 by Carole Beaton
4th Trip!

This was our fourth trip with BasqueMtb and it just keeps getting better and better! We love that they are always working on ways to improve their trips with everything from accommodation to quality of trails.

 by Vincent Bottema
Best Mountain Bike Holiday Ever

Best mountainbiking holiday ever. I want to go back since the very moment I stepped in the car back home.

 by NickCummins
Best European Trip

Really really amazing trip, one of the Best European trips I've ever done.

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FAQ´s

Here are some of the questions we are regularly asked about our mountain bike holidays. If you have any questions we are delighted to answer them, just get in touch.
 

What is the difference between the High Pyrenees and the Backcountry Pyrenees?
  • The High Pyrenees (HP) is in Autumn when there is no snow up high // The Backcounty Pyrenees (BCPyr) is in Spring when it will still be snowy up high. 
  • HP rides in the higher mountains. Descents can be longer. There is some hike-a-bike // BCPyr is lower, still long descents but no hike-a-bike. 
  • HP has slightly less climbing // BCPyr goes into really wild areas. 
  • HP – Long high alpine singletracks. 
  • BCPyr – Wild riding, amazing natural flow, big rocky slabs and technical. 
  • HP – Rides in Val d´Aran, Benaque, Bielsa, Ens and Loudenville. 
  • BCPyr – Rides in Tremp, Benasque, Ainsa and Guara. 

Both trips share a style. Big days, long rides, technical, mostly uplifted (shuttled) so mostly downhill, move between different areas to explore. Both trips have fantastic riding, the style is different but the quality is definitely not. 

Do you have an itinerary for your Backcountry Pyrenees Mountain Bike Holidays?

We don’t have set itineraries for any of our mountain bike holidays, we believe that the trails should be matched to the guests, however to give you an idea of what our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike tour looks like you can see an outline itinerary here: Backcountry Pyrenees Mountain Bike Tour Itinerary.

I don’t want to do a week’s mountain bike holiday, can I do a shorter break?

Unfortunately for our Backcountry Pyrenees holidays we can’t offer shorter tours due to the fact that at times during the trip we will be a long way from the airport.

What are the group sizes on a typical mountain bike holiday?

Our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike holidays run with a minimum of 4 people and a maximum of 14.

My partner doesn’t mountain bike but would like to join our holiday, is this possible?

The Backcountry Pyrenees trip isn’t really suitable for non-bikers. We would really recommend our Basque coast mountain bike holidays, near San Sebastian, if you want to come with non biking partners.

What is the weather like in that part of Spain?

The weather in the Spanish Pyrenees allows year round mountain biking. In winter the days are generally cold, however the skies are generally clear and this is a very dry part of Spain with around 330 days of sunshine a year. Temperatures are higher in autumn and spring, but you can expect general temperatures of around 10-20degC.

What bike / tyres / brake pads do you recommend for this part of Spain?

To try and make this subject a bit interactive we have a facebook page dedicated to this. Please have a look here, (and we always appreciate people liking our page!).


Our Backcountry Pyrenees bike holiday is a fun trip. It is intense and unrelenting but if you are looking for a challenging mountain bike holiday it will suit. It is very comparable to the High Pyrenees. There is some challenging climbing but around 80% of the riding is downhill. If you like the idea of riding long, wild trails and being out in the wilderness, with few amenities and just the mountains around you, this could be the mountain bike holiday for you!


Wild Riding

Long, technical and remote natural trails. The riding is rocky in general but hugely varied and above all fun. 1000´s of meters of descending each day.

Unlimited Shuttles

Unlimited uplift as on all trips. Our uplifts are carefully thought out to make each day a continous adventure.

Environment

An amazing geological wonderland. The trails cross these mountains, gorges and rock formations guiding you through a wild environment.

Experience

Drinks around open fires, amazing picnics in abandoned villages. These are the experiences you get on the Backcountry Pyrenees.




BACKCOUNTRY PYRENEES | RELATED PAGES

Before you book why not have a look at some of our Backcountry Pyrenees stories and related holidays?

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basqueMTB

Established 2008, basqueMTB have been offering amazing mountain bike holidays across the Pyrenees, San Sebastian and Northern Spain. Dedicated shuttles, the most experienced guides and more than a decade of experience organising our award winning mountain bike holidays, come and visit us and see what all the fuss is about.

Email: doug@basquemtb.com
Tel. +34 662 614 470
Agencia de viajes CI NA-148
Registro de turismo activo y cultural UETAC055