The vineyard covered slopes of Irouléguy.
We’ve cooked up a really wonderful inn-to-inn hiking tour in the Pays Basque (the French Basque country). Let’s lift the lid a little and see what’s inside.
The Basque hills are a landscape painter’s dream. Windswept peaks and ridgelines melt into vineyard and pasture covered hills which in turn relax, stretch out, and spill their beechwood forests and trout-filled streams into the sea. Along the Bay of Biscay, village fisherman still fill their tiny boats with tuna, cod, anchovies and sardines, while waves crash against rocky cliffs and then are gently calmed by sandy, crescent-shaped beaches. Along the shoreline, cheerful little ice cream carts selling “glaces et sorbets artisinales” await. In the mountains, the calming bleat of a sheep betrays the village sheepherder who, often wearing a traditional beret, contently manages the flock. Meanwhile, pottok (wild Basque ponies) graze nearby. Through all of it, the most perfectly sketchable villages lurk over every hill top.
The region between the town of Pau and the Atlantic Ocean is often considered the most picturesque region of the Pays Basque, beguiling travelers with tranquil villages that time has seemingly forgotten. The centerpiece of these villages, and of Basque culture in general, is the farm house, with its broad terracotta tiled roofs, neatly whitewashed stone facades, and exposed timber frames. The wooden timbers and shutters on these homes are always painted a deep, seductive red. In the fall, ristras of red pepper hang-dry from the woodwork of these cute country homes. The peppers are a spicy decoration produced in one of southern France’s prettiest towns, the village of Espelette.
The celebrated piments d’Espelette.
Pepper from the village of Espelette, known locally as piment d’Espelette, is more than just a decoration in the Pays Basque. Fine cookery is a source of local pride in the Basque hill country, and the Basque people are masters of infusing the piment d’Espelette into the most delicious and mouthwatering cuisine. The pepper infused dark chocolate is worthy of investigation! Indeed, the Basques seem to be born with an innate sense of good cooking, probably due in large part to the location of the Pays Basque between the mountains and the sea. Situated “au bord de la mer,” as the French like to say, the Pays Basque benefits from an abundance of treasures from the sea and mountain farms alike.
Taste, for example, the ttoro (pronounced tioro), a traditional fisherman’s stew. A specialty of the Basque coast, ttoro was originally prepared by fisherman in the middle of the sea, on their fishing boats, with fish that had been discarded from the net. Ttoro features a blend of fish including, but not limited to, monkfish, prawns, eel and mussels. More of a stew than a soup, ttoro is lovingly prepared by the fisherman’s wives who blend the stew with tomato sauce, garlic, and the famous Espelette pepper.
How about sampling the Salamis de Palombe? This dish consists of local wild dove simmered with red wine, diced ham from the nearby town of Bayonne, shallots and a bouquet garni assembled from the most flavorful local herbs. Are you a vegetarian? No problem. A good meal depends on good quality ingredients, and the fertile landscape of the Pays Basque produces the best quality vegetables and fruits in southwest France.
La Pipérade, a traditional Basque dish thoughtfully prepared with onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and piment d’Espelette.
Each village in the Pays Basque takes pride in a particular gastronomic treasure. Just outside of Pau, the region of Jurançon produces wines that have been celebrated since the middle ages. Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng are the principal grape varieties of Jurançon used in both sweet wines (Jurançon) and dry white wines (Jurançon sec). Deeper in the Basque hills, in a vineyard-terraced countryside that spills over into Spain, the commune of Irouléguy produces the preferred red and white wines of the region. Cabernet Franc and Tannat varieties are the principal grapes for the Irouléguy reds, while Courbu, Petit Courbu, Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng are the principal Irouléguy whites.
In the valley of Itxassou, cerises noires (black cherries), provide the sweet foundation of a most delicious confiture which is often used as a filling in the gâteau Basque. The gâteau Basque is a delectable double crust pie, sometimes filled with home-made pastry cream, that goes down far too easily following a traditional Basque meal.
The traditional gâteau Basque.
You would not be alone if you were tempted to drive from village-to-village and eat your way across the Pays Basque, sampling pintxos (Basque tapas) as you go. But that would be a shame because the Basque hill country offers some very delightful hiking and walking trails that are worthy of exploration. Take, for example, the hike across the exposed Crêtes d’Iparla between the villages of Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry and Bidarray. On a clear day, you can drink in the views of the Hautes-Pyrénées to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and a patchwork quilt of idyllic villages and farms in between. You’ll follow the French border all the while, frequently dipping your toes into Spain as you hike.
While the Basque hill country may not be as high as the mountains of the French Alps, some of the trails can be quite steep, leaving even the most ardent hikers pleasantly satisfied. Of course, you’d be foolish not to visit a fromagerie during your hike. Aromatic wheels of fromage de brebis (sheep’s milk cheese) are produced in the beech forests of Iraty and the Ossau valley using a technique that dates back thousands of years. There was a time, centuries ago, when Ossau-Iraty sheep cheese was so valued that it was used as a form of local currency. And just down the road, in the village of Ascain, Monsieur Lagadec has revived an ancient Basque apple wine called Sagarno at the Txopinondo Cidrerie Basque. As with the cheese, you’d be “complètment fou” if you didn’t stop in and “prendre un verre.” Lucky for you, we include these tasting stops in our hike.
Would you like to know more about hiking (and eating) in the Pays Basque? Check out our French Basque Country hiking tour. And of course, give us a call or drop us a note if you have questions. We absolutely love sharing the wonder of this treasured land in southwestern France.
