Spain / France · Western Pyrenees · Premium route guide
Western Pyrenees (San Sebastián → Pau)
485 kilometres from the Atlantic to the foot of the central Pyrenees — Basque back-roads, Roncesvalles, the Pierre-Saint-Martin at 1,760 m, and Marie-Blanque above Laruns. Quieter than the classic central cols and green in a way the eastern side isn't. Full route on the map, GPX for your GPS, rider-vetted stays.
- Distance
- 484.6 km
- Peak elevation
- 2,235 m
- Elevation gain
- 8,189 m
- Best months
- May–Oct
The route
From San Sebastián south to Pamplona, over Roncesvalles into France, then along the piedmont via Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Mauléon and Tardets to the Pierre-Saint-Martin (1,760 m) and Marie-Blanque, finishing at Pau. Pins are motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted.
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Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route — how to load this into your GPS
What you're downloading is a GPX track — a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It's not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zūmo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner → new trip from track) if you want turn-by-turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive — it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it doesn't re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour — Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these don't read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX-capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line — pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~7 m at the base to 2235 m at the top — 8,189 m of total climbing across the route.
This is the quieter half of the Pyrenees — greener, wetter and less-ridden than the central cols. What you get instead is empty D-roads through Basque villages, three genuinely high passes with almost no traffic, and food that's arguably the best in the range.
Two days if you want to enjoy it, one long day if you don't. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or Oloron-Sainte-Marie make good overnight stops.
The road, honestly
The Pierre-Saint-Martin is the surprise here. It sits on the border above 1,700 m, the road up from Arette is fast and empty, and half the riders you meet at the top are locals doing it for the tenth time. Marie-Blanque, an hour further east, is short (10 km) and steep — famous to cyclists, ignored by most bike travellers, and one of the best short cols in France.
Between the passes you're on Basque back-roads: pelota courts in every village, white houses with red shutters, and a food culture that treats a roadside inn the way France usually treats a Michelin star.
Base at either end
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is the Basque base — walled town on the Camino, easy access to Roncesvalles and the western cols. Oloron-Sainte-Marie sits under Marie-Blanque and Pierre-Saint-Martin and puts you on the doorstep of the central range for the following day. Pair the two if you want a two-night trip.
Weather, food and fuel
Rideable May to October. The western Pyrenees are the wettest part of the range — an Atlantic front can close the top cols with cloud on a summer afternoon; ride the high stuff in the morning. The Basque coast is often sunny when the mountains are wet, so a rain day is not a lost day.
Fuel is easy in San Sebastián, Pamplona, Saint-Jean, Mauléon, Oloron and Pau; sparse between them. Order a plate of jamón, a glass of Irouléguy and don't try to ride the same afternoon.
What to see along the way
- Roncesvalles / Puerto de Ibañeta — The Camino pass into France. Small monastery, wide car park, and the point where the Basque coast finally gives way to the Pyrenees proper.
- Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port — Walled Basque town on the Nive. Overnight stop, café stop, everything stop.
- Col de la Pierre-Saint-Martin (1,760 m) — The high pass of the western Pyrenees. Fast switchbacks up, wind-scoured plateau at the top, ski station one direction and the Spanish border the other.
- Col de Marie-Blanque (1,035 m) — Short, sharp and famous to cyclists. Ride it west-to-east for the steep side.
- Laruns — Base town at the foot of Marie-Blanque. Market square, café tables, natural coffee stop.
- Pau — End of the line — Château, boulevard des Pyrénées with the range laid out in front of it, and the natural jumping-off point for the central cols.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for Western Pyrenees (San Sebastián → Pau)
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port / Oloron-Sainte-Marie — change it if you're basing elsewhere.
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Rider-verified stays within 30 km
Automatically selected by proximity to the traced route — no editorial cherry-picking. Sorted by how close they are to the road.
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