“You can’t miss us, our stand is a magnificent Arc de Triomphe that we have customized as little sheep from Béarn”announces all smiles Jacques Pédehontaa, president of the tourist agency of Béarn and mayor of the municipality of Laas.
On its stand installed in hall 1 of the Paris Agricultural Show, it presents stays to discover agropastoralism, by going to meet transhumant shepherds, in Bedous in the Aspe Valley or in Laruns in the valley of ‘Osau.
“These are 30 stays in the mountains, but also in the plain, since most of the shepherds are there, and transhume in the high mountain pastures in summer. We will take you to meet a shepherd in the summer pastures who will make you discover the pastoral activity, how is the rhythm of a shepherd’s day in the morning, very early at 5:30/6 a.m., and then we give you a special experience, with cheese making.”
And of course the ossau-iraty, sheep’s cheese which has a slight hazelnut flavor.
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And to add: “I haven’t even told you about all the natural activities of the mountain. That is to say hiking, we are still the convergence of the routes to Compostela, the GR 65 passes by us. There are activities canyoning, you have zip lines in the canyons of the Gave d’Ossau, which will make you live an incredible adventure, it’s not Koh-Lanta, it’s a family adventure and open to all.”
Count 300 euros for two for a stay “Meeting the shepherd in mountain pastures”, 3 days / 2 nights. And 450 euros per person to experience transhumance on horseback, 3 days/2 nights.
To experience a day of family pastoralism with the shepherds of the Maria Blanca farm on the Plateau du Bénou in Bielle, it costs 25 euros per person.
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Currently, there are approximately 320 transhumant herders in Béarn, 120 of whom are women. Among them, Sandra Loustau. At 40, she has been working in this profession for 20 years in the Ossau Valley, with her husband and their children aged 10 and 14, who accompany them to the mountain pastures.
“We climb in the middle of the mountains at an altitude of about 1000m, she specifies. This is called the summer average. From July 1 to August 30 we are at an altitude of 2000m in the summer pastures; to reach our hut there is an hour and a half walk from the car. Before we prepare the races for 4 people for two months.”
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And on the last day of the Agricultural Show, Sunday March 6, you can attend a free and unique show: The Bearnaise Folies. A parade with 2,022 sheep, cows and horses that will march down the Champs-Elysées, with 350 dancers from Béarn, to celebrate the inclusion of transhumance in the intangible heritage of UNESCO.
Primary objective ? Introduce city dwellers to agropastoralism with the men and women who perpetuate this ancestral practice throughout the French massifs.
Sandra Loustau participates in the event with a clear message: “Talking about the preservation of the mountains and showing that we are there and that even if it is not always easy, that we are useful and that we have an essential role for the environment.”
See you on March 6 from noon on the most beautiful avenue in the world.
IN PRACTICE
Transhumance weekend of 3 days/2 nights in a 3-star hotel on a half-board basis with provision of an electric vehicle during the day of the event Price: 218.90 euros/person (base 2)
www.pyrenees-bearnaises.com
Meeting with a shepherd who will share with you his passion for his job and his life on the summer pasture with the herds and cheese making. 2 days. Price: 150 euros/person (base 2)
www.rando-bike.fr
Experience transhumance on horseback. You accompany the herds of sheep and cows on the Ossal pastures. 3 days/2 nights Price: 450 euros/person
www.ossau-pyrenees.com
Family hike, meeting herds of cows, sheep and discovering Pyrenean pastoralism. Price: 23 euro
https://fermemariblanca.fr