GR 11: An Honest Account of Crossing the Spanish Pyrenees

If you collect travel tips from around the planet, you’re in the right place. If you’re hungry for experiences and want to see the whole world, ideally from above, definitely read on, because for outdoor enthusiasts there’s no bigger challenge in Europe than the GR 11. This article, and the first-hand account that follows, came out of our friend Anezka’s experience last year.

How the idea of walking the GR 11 / crossing the Pyrenees came about

In July 2023 I set off into the wild, where I spent 38 days of intense adventure. Together we’ll look at what not to leave at home, how much money to take, how to work with fear and how to savour the freedom we usually keep on a tight rein.

The long-distance GR 11 is one of three long treks running the length of the Pyrenees, which form the border between Spain and France. It’s a walk from one lighthouse to another. The route starts by the Atlantic at the Cabo de Higuer lighthouse on the Basque coast and ends at the Cap de Creus lighthouse by the Mediterranean in Catalonia. This 840-kilometre high-mountain route takes you through the most beautiful parts of the Spanish Pyrenees. The Valle de Ordesa alone is a highlight. So what are you waiting for? Slap a schnitzel between two slices of bread and head out to meet an adventure that isn’t waiting for you.

GR 11 basics

• Number of days – 30-45 days
• Start and finish – Cabo de Higuer / Cap de Creus
• Navigation helper – mapy.cz (the best travel companion), the GR 11 app
• Distance – 840 kilometres
• Waymarking – red and white
• Elevation gain – 45,000 m
• Countries – Spain, France, Andorra
• Scrambling sections – sections with chains or ropes
• Best months – June, July, August, September

The 3 basic needs when crossing the Pyrenees

Good sleep, the right gear and, above all, enough fluids and food. I’ll underline that one more than ten times.

Going solo – the fear that slows you down

I’m scared! If that’s what’s going through your head, it’s completely fine and I can assure you it’s not an unsolvable problem. I did the walk alone, so fear was a natural part of it. A month on the move is a fairly long time and you need to get your head into a good place. It never even occurred to me that I might not reach the end, but on the other hand I want to say that if you’re really not feeling it, it’s absolutely fine to sit on a rock, think about what next and make peace with the version where “it’s time to head home.”

It helps to define your fear about the trip and get clear on what specifically you’re afraid of. From the very beginning I was worried about running into a bear, and about wildlife generally. When a viper slithered between my legs for the fourth time, I decided being afraid of snakes was pointless. But when I saw bear droppings, I tried to come to terms with the fact that when I did see one I’d definitely panic first, but would still try to do everything I could to get out alive and in one piece.

It’s worth noting that only a few dozen bears live in Spain, most of them in Catalonia, so it’s a real long shot to run into one – but from the stories of other hikers who had that misfortune, I know that luck favours the prepared. In the end I concluded that the fear of bears was eating a lot of my energy and slowing me down, that I didn’t want to be afraid any more and, above all, that being afraid isn’t fun. I eventually averaged out the effect of that fear and concluded it had cost me three days. 😀

When to set off on the GR 11

Most people set out on the GR 11 between June and September, mainly because of the best conditions in the high Pyrenees. But as in most mountains, the weather calls the shots here too. Thunderstorms are a real bogeyman in the Pyrenees – a storm out in the wild is quite the disco.

Because I set off at the start of July, there was very little spring snow left at higher altitudes. I’d recommend checking current conditions.

The heaviest traffic of walkers is during the summer holidays in July and August, so it’s mainly in those two months that accommodation can be full. In that period you’ll need to book beds and meals in mountain huts well in advance. If you’re going solo but want the feeling that there’s always someone around, I’d recommend setting off during July, ideally at the start. And if you want to be sure of everything, download my online guide.

How many days for the GR 11

This is very individual. It depends whether you’re a running hiker, a laid-back hiker or an “I fit everything in” hiker. That last one is my favourite. The “I fit everything in” hiker manages to walk, take in the views, take photos and still chat to other people. The number of days varies with fitness and weather. The record is under 25 days. Generally, though, it’s recommended to allow around 45 days so you can keep a comfortable pace. Along the way I met trekkers who did 500 km over fifty days, and others who did 600 kilometres in 17. Either is fine – you just walk the way you feel.

Which direction should you walk the GR 11?

For me this is really important, because the first days on the trek can be the hardest, so you need to pick the right start. You can walk it from either direction. West to east, which means starting at the Atlantic, or from the east, at the Mediterranean. I started at the Cabo de Higuer lighthouse, where the Atlantic waves woke me in the morning and where the GR 11, alias the “Trans Pirenaica”, officially begins.

You’ll often hear that more people start at the ocean, so if you want to travel more on your own, choose the sea end. In my case that didn’t quite hold true.

How to get to the start of the GR 11?

There are plenty of ways to reach the start. I went for an unconventional one and travelled free of charge, ride-sharing in a lorry. The driver dropped me somewhere in Irun and I hitched the rest of the way to the Cabo de Higuer lighthouse. How does that kind of ride-share work? You join a Facebook group – luxury lorry ride-sharing – post that you need to get from A to B, and off you go. The journeys were demanding and for tough characters.

People get there in all sorts of ways: by plane, by bus or by hitchhiking. For me the simplest and most comfortable is flying. If you’re starting in the west, I’d recommend flying to San Sebastián (Hondarribia).

From the other direction the easiest is to fly to Barcelona, from where you take a bus to the town of Llançà and, after a couple of connections, reach the easternmost tip at Cap de Creus. If you want a rest along the way, I’d recommend spending time in the seaside town of Cadaqués, which may well dazzle you. From there you can walk to the Cap de Creus lighthouse or take the bus.

GR 11 maps and waymarking

You can get a map for free anywhere online, or collect paper maps for individual sections as you go. Given that I have absolutely no sense of direction, I went for the simplest option and downloaded the Mapy.cz map of the GR 11 route. Again I have to sing Mapy.cz’s praises. Not only had plenty of foreigners downloaded it too, but the maps had all the side routes marked and helped me enormously. In the lorry I also downloaded the paid GR 11 app, which seemed brilliant at first, though I still mostly used Mapy.cz. I’d recommend downloading the app anyway, because it shows you water sources, food shops, places to sleep, pharmacies, refugios, camping spots, campsites, altitude, kilometres walked, the percentage of the route completed and much more. I met trekkers who used only paper maps and I secretly envied them, because the maps were draining my phone. I also came across dedicated hiking GPS units.

The waymarking is often genuinely mad. On the one hand, apart from Catalonia the route is simply and clearly marked the whole way. The marks are red and white and often appear on a rock, a tree, a cliff or the path. The marking stays the same, but as soon as you cross from one region into another, the style and colour of the signposts changes.

Food and water

Food

It depends whether you carry a stove or go with cold food, lighten your pack and treat yourself to something more substantial in a restaurant every few days. I had one stove, which gave up 10 days before the end, after which I ate only cold food – vegetables, fruit, salad, baguette, cheese, cured meats, avocado… I’m a sucker for treats, so I had a huge amount of sweet stuff and thoroughly enjoyed the mornings when breakfast was chocolate and biscuits. 😀

There are plenty of little shops and restaurants along the route where you can restock, depending on your pace. On average I walked around 20-25 km a day, and in the central Pyrenees, where I depended on my own supplies or on eating in mountain huts, I carried four days of food. Outside the central Pyrenees, two or three days’ food is enough.

Water

Water in the Pyrenees is genuinely brilliant. I was pleasantly surprised by how many springs, wells and drinking fountains there are. That’s mainly true in the west and the central part of the range. You’ll only run into a shortage as you drop down towards the Mediterranean in the east. Sometimes a litre of water was enough for me.

It’s worth noting that in the central Pyrenees you won’t manage without a water filter, so don’t leave it at home. That was my mistake; luckily a Czech hiker I met gave me his, and the long days that followed were bathed in sunshine and filtered water.

What to pack for the GR 11?

I set off on the GR 11 in July, so my kit matched summer mountain weather – but every year can be different, especially depending on snowfall, so it’s quite possible snow will linger into late summer. In that case you need to be prepared.

Basic kit

Trekking footwear

Boots are the single most crucial piece of kit on the whole trek. Good boots can be the start of your success. Footwear is exactly where I came unstuck, and I paid for it the whole way across. High temperatures, damp and occasional rain showed me that stiff, heavy Gore-Tex boots were not the right choice.

Backpack

The pack, another essential part of good kit. I had an OSPREY KYTE 46-litre. Big enough, with a metal frame – though if you’re ultralight, it’s needlessly heavy. What matters is adjusting the pack to fit you properly before you leave.

Poles

Poles make both climbing and descending easier. Before this trip they’d always just got in my way. In the Pyrenees I used them from day one and can’t praise them enough. They saved me from falling many times and made unpleasant descents much easier. Decathlon FORCLAZ poles are more than enough.

Sleeping bag

I chose a bag rated as three-season and was happy with it. In the central Pyrenees the temperature sometimes didn’t get very high; I remember hoarfrost in the mornings. My kit these days includes the very popular duck-down Warmpeace Viking 600.

Tent

The tent is another very important piece of kit. Given that sleep is essential, I’d recommend not scrimping and buying a good, light tent. I’d suggest the affordable Lanshan, which also comes in a one-person version, or a tarp with a groundsheet. Zpacks is a very good brand too, but there you’ll be paying more. I’d recommend a tent with a higher hydrostatic head.

Stove

I had a Coleman stove with a small Decathlon canister. Unfortunately, on the very first evening I discovered the canister didn’t seal properly against the stove. In that case you can buy a canister along the way in a hardware shop or at a ski resort.

Clothing for dry weather and wet

I tried to pack only what was strictly necessary. I tried to lighten the pack as much as possible, but since I already owned plenty of gear that’s bearable weight-wise but not the lightest, I didn’t spend money on ultralight. I write about exactly how much the pack weighed and what was in it in my online guide.

Accommodation on the GR 11

There are lots of ways to spend the night on the trek: a hotel, a hostel, a refugio mountain hut, a campsite or wild camping in a tent. It depends on your daily budget and your pace.

Wild camping / camp spots

The simplest and cheapest way to sleep is wild camping – somewhere in the forest, in the mountains, in a meadow; sleeping in the wild, as I call it. Sleeping outside is great because it gives you complete freedom. A tent or a tarp lets you go to sleep wherever you want, whenever you want. Spending your nights this way on the GR 11 pulls you into the landscape, you merge with nature and you take in your surroundings far more intensely.

You’ll also come across plenty of campsites, most commonly between 12 and 25 euros per person per night with a tent. It depends which section you’re in. By the Atlantic the campsites were cheaper than past the halfway point near the Mediterranean. They’re a pleasure, because you can do laundry, charge your electronics and have a hot shower.

Refugio mountain huts

In theory the whole crossing could be done sleeping in proper accommodation. The most common option in the mountains are the Pyrenean mountain huts, the so-called refugios. They also offer hot meals – lunch, dinner and then breakfast. You can stay without meals too, which works out much cheaper. At Refugi Cap de Llauset you’ll find the manager Martin, from the Krkonose mountains. He thought I was Italian, and only later did we work out that he’s Czech and has lived in the Pyrenees for 15 years. So you get to chat with a compatriot too.

Some refugios are completely free. But CAREFUL. They’re often in a fairly dire state and you end up realising it’s just a shelter for livestock. Other times you’ll be pleasantly surprised that a refugio is in very good condition and free.

Albergues and hotels

You’ll be able to use hotels and Spanish albergue hostels whenever your stage ends in civilisation. An albergue is cheaper and the chances of running into fellow outdoor and travel enthusiasts there are higher than in a hotel.

How much does the GR 11 crossing cost?

This is very individual. It depends on the pace you walk and on your preferences. You can sleep outside for free every day and bathe in rivers, or treat yourself to comfort once a week, or every time you reach civilisation. All of those are completely fine – on a hike we do everything the way we feel it. I approached the whole trip in a fairly sporty way, slept in the wild and didn’t suffer at all. There were trekkers with a daily budget of 100 euros who slept in hotels every time they reached a town. I’m not counting what I spent on gear, because I’d been testing that for a long time already. Roughly, all in – including souvenirs and the travel and stay in Barcelona – I spent 20,000 Czech crowns over 45 days. I walked the trek in 38 days and spent the rest hitchhiking and travelling around Spain.

GR 11 guide

No stress. With certainty. With a guide that won’t leave you lost.

The GR 11 is no ordinary hike. It’s 820 km of life in motion. On foot from Cabo Higuer on the Bay of Biscay all the way to Cap de Creus, where the Pyrenees dive into the Mediterranean. That’s why we’ve put together a seriously loaded guide that will prepare you for this expedition down to the last sock.

More long-distance crossings

Our team is genuinely obsessed with long-distance walks, and you can enjoy them too. Read our article on the best long-distance treks in Europe and head out for an adventure. There’s always time for everything else – oh, and there’s always a bit of money left over.