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The Eastern Pyrenees run from Bagnères-de-Brigorre nearly to Perpignan on the Mediterranean coast of France. They can be subdivided further by their geology. Most of the Eastern Pyrenees are like the rest of the range and made from igneous rock. This doesn’t erode easily and is responsible for the rounder, older more permanent look of the Pyrenees when compared to the Alps. However, the Ariège Pyrenees, which run in an ever-widening triangle with an apex near Andorra, are limestone, so this is a land of deep gorges and light grey cliffs.

But even the igneous mountains are different in character. The climbs south of the town of St Girons, like the Col de Menté or the Portet d’Aspet, are lower than those in the East and in Andorra. This means that they are generally covered in trees or pasture, whereas the far eastern climbs are topped with straggly grass or bare rock.

The towns of Andorra La Vella or Font Romeu make good bases for the far eastern climbs, where you will see plenty of examples of the Occitan language that is heavily influenced by Catalan Spanish and was spoken in this region in times gone by. Best bases for the Ariège Pyrenees are Ax-les-Thermes or Tarascon-sur-Ariège and Foix.

A number of the climbs that have been used by the Tour de France in this region are wholly in Spain, where there is another face of this region to be enjoyed. The Spanish climbs, especially the Collado del Canto and Port de la Bonaigua, are in lonely and quite sparsely populated areas, where you can ride for miles without seeing a soul.