To drive to the Forêt d'Iraty, follow the D301 east out of the Nive valley from the junction near the Hôtel Artzaïn Etchea, where the forest is signposted. The road is very steep, narrow and full of tight hairpins and ambling livestock – it's best avoided at night or in misty conditions – but as you climb higher up the steep spurs and round the heads of labyrinthine gullies, ever more spectacular views open beneath you. You can see way back over the valley of the Nive, St-Jean and the hills beyond. Stands of beech fill the gullies, shadowing the lighter grass whose green is so intense it seems almost theatrical – an effect produced, apparently, by the juxtaposition of outcrops of rock whose purplish hue brings out the cadmium yellow in the grass.Along the cols and ridges stand ranks of shooting butts, from which the well-heeled urban bourgeoisie open fire every October on the millions of migrating palombes, as wood pigeons are called here, heading north over the western Pyrenees from Spain. Many other bird species can be seen too; among them honey buzzards, black kites, red kites, cranes and storks. Herds of healthy-looking horses and ponies, masses of sheep and big sleek caramel cows with bells at their throats on wooden collars marked with their owners' names, wander across the road. There are superb places to camp, with views west to the Orange and crimson striations of the sunset and the revolving beacon of the Biarritz lighthouse visible in the dark. Once past the north flank of Occabé (1456m), you're in Soule, and from here the road loops down to meet the D18 on the plateau d'Iraty, with its small lake, clutch of snack bars and flat ground to camp on. A minor road leads south to Ochagavia in Spain via the Chalet Pedro (1km), the best restaurant in the area, where the GR10 emerges from its descent of flat-topped Occabé (75min up from here), with its Iron Age stone circle and views across the forest and south to the Sierra de Abodi. Continuing east from the plateau, the D18 road enters the densest part of the forest, climbing past another small lake and a campsite half hidden in the magnificent beeches, to a collection of nine wooden chalets and a gîte d'étape at the Col de Bargagiak. An information office at the col (open all year; tel 05.59.28.51.29) takes bookings for the chalets and the gîte d'étape; across the car park is a small shop and inexpensive restaurant. From here you descend slightly to the nearby Col d'Orgambidexka, which is one of the prime viewing fields for the autumn bird migrations. As you emerge into the open beyond Bargagiak, the ground drops sharply away on the left into the Valleé de Larrau, 600m lower. To the right, the brilliant grassy swards of the Pic d'Orhy (2017m; allow 5hr return hike) culminate in swirling strata of rock below the summit, barring the way to Spain. And ahead, for the first breath-stopping time, you can see the serrated horizon of peaks that dominate the Cirque de Lescun, a harbinger of the central Pyrenees.
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