Safety

It is a condition for booking any of the guided or self-guided walks described on this Basque Country Walks website that participants be covered by a suitable travel insurance policy that includes walking over hilly/mountainous terrain up to 1000 metres that is valid for Spain (and the French Pyrenees, in the case of the Baztan-Bidasoa Route), and includes emergency evacuation. Please contact me for further details or recommendations. Participants also need to sign and return a disclaimer form which will be sent at the time of booking.

Additionally, for your own protection, please heed the following advice:

  * Do not overestimate your ability. Approximate walking times, accumulative altitude gain and distance are shown for each walk and for each day of the self-guided walks, but much of the Basque terrain is mountainous and all walks described involve varying degrees of ascent/descent, on safe but at times narrow paths. Read the description provided and do not hesitate to contact me for more specific details if you are in any doubt as to the level of difficulty.

* Always keep an eye on the weather. Local people such as farmers and shepherds (and hotel owners in the villages) are the  best for giving advice about weather conditions – in heavy fog, for example, use of a compass is extremely important and GPS Basque Country Walks provides all relevant coordinates.

* Make sure you have plenty of water. In the case of guided day walks, this is provided, but in the case of self-guided multi-day walks, always take 1-2 litres per person. All places where drinking water can be found are shown in the instructions for self-guided walks.