Maps and guides books

For a good hike in the Pyrenees, a wandering mood and an improvisation spirit is certainly not sufficiet...


For a good hike in the Pyrenees, a wandering mood and an improvisation spirit is certainly not sufficiet. On top of good legs, outings implies knowing how to use a few tools specially meant for hikers: on the one hand maps and on the other guide books.


Of course, a lot of trails are marked out, but not all of them, far from it, be it the easiest or the most difficult ones. Beside inscribing an itinerary within its surroundings, thus allowing you to grasp its global location, if you know how to read it a map will allow you to move forward with as little risk as possible, to regularly take a fix on your position (mandatory in bad weather conditions), and also allow you by-passes and changes.


The map kit adapted to hiking is rather simple. You may choose between two scales:
1:50 000 and 1:25 000.
On the first ones, one centimeter represents 500 meters and on the second only 250 meters.

While 1:25 000 is finer, more precise, the 1:50 000 covers more space and allows to have a good idea on everything around. For long hikes you can without any problem use a 1:50 000 scale map. For difficult climbing or off-trail hikes you must have 1:25 000 scale maps.

Both often complement one another.


The French Pyrenees are shown in a series of 10 1:50 000 hiking maps, published by Rando Editions, on chart bases established by the Institut Géographique National. Moreover, the IGN is also publisher of the 1:25 000 maps of the series called Top 25.
The whole Pyrenean massif, French side, is indeed detailed in about thirty map sheets. Invaluable and indispensable, maps are however not real world: your interpretation and representation capabilities must always remain wide awake…


Another unavoidable part of your equipment is a good guide book. Lots of them have been published in the last ten years covering all kind of outings, from family walks to climbing the most famous 3,000 m summits. Several publishers, specialized and non-specialized, without forgetting institutional ones, share the market. Numerous books are available, competing with seduction and precision. You therefore have a large selection of hundreds and hundreds of hikes, with sometimes, from one description to the other, more or less lyrics, more or less details, more or less weight in the backpack …


Many a local tourist publicity agency and tourist office offer leaflets or catalog cards at reasonable prices. Professionals publish more homogeneous series, such a the Guides Rando (Rando Editions), the Guides Audoubert (Editions Milan) or the Sentiers de Grande Randonnée guide books published by the French Hiking Federation (Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre).

Bookshops, press houses and sporting goods stores are as many places where you will find maps and guide books.











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