Packages and Options

The meeting point is in Degagnac. You can fly into Bergerac or Toulouse. From there -- rent a car or we can arrange a transfer for you. Or you can take the train to Gourdon and we will arrange a transfer from there for you.

Day 1:  Arrival
Rendezvous at the riding center where Hans and Hermina welcome you and present the itinerary for the week, while drinking a home made cocktail. In the evening Périgourdine dinner served by Hermina and accommodation in comfortable rooms at the farm.
Day 2: Champagne
You will then set out on the four day trail ride. Discovering the Lot and passing on ancient Roman roads, mule paths and parts of the road to Santiago de Compostela. All tracks lead you to the once revered Christian site of Rocamadour, a place of pilgrimage, which has clung to the limestone cliffs of the Alzou Canyon for over nine hundred years. Your first night stop is at Le Vigan in a converted watermill, where you might like to enjoy a soak in the outdoor pool after the day’s exertions.
Day 3: Rocamadour 
An early start so that there will be lots of time to look around in Rocamadour. The scenery changes from gentle grassy lands to rough country. You pace is fast with the longest gallop of the ride (10 -15 minutes) , The ride ends at the Swiss  Robert Domaine de Lagerdelle, on top of a calcium stone rocky  plateau in the heart of the national park Causses du Guercy. Far below us runs the  river Alzou. In  the 120 meter deep gorge  lays the   magical town with golden houses clinging to the side of a cliff over the Alzou canyon. Rocamadour is famous for its little round goat cheeses (Cabecous) but most of all for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which for centuries has attracted pilgrims from every country, among them kings, bishops, and nobles.
The story is that a follower of Jesus, Amadour who had a vision to settle in the middle of France and to devote himself to honor the Virgin Mary ( a  wooden statue of Maria holding  Jesus in her lap (The famous Black Madonna). Eleven hundred years later in 1166 the body of Sint Amadours was found entirely intact.  This made Rocamadour a famous pilgrimage.
The pilgrims are expected to climb the 217 steps on their knees to show their devotion to the seven little churches en chapels. Tourists are discouraged and have the choice of taking an escalator to the top.
Rocamadour: The exquisite natural setting and beautiful buildings have made Rocamadour France's second-most visited site (after Mount St. Michael, Normandy). Rocamadour, 36 miles north-northeast of Cahors and local to the Dordogne Valley, never fails to make a visual impression. But this quaint village is best known for its peerless cheese making, as well as the religious pilgrimages made each year by clerics and laypeople alike.   But Saint Amadour's crypt isn't the only sight of interest in this historic burg. The Chapelle Notre Dame--Our Lady's Chapel--contains the famous Black Madonna, a twelfth century rendition of the virgin Mary holding an infant Jesus. Here Rocamadour's many visitors light candles and pray to the Madonna. A bell, which has supposedly rung of its own accord in response to sailors' prayers to Mary, hangs from the ceiling.
Day 4:  Paradise
Another early start for the longest part of the trip. It starts with a  steep hike leading the horses down into the gorge. Once in the forest another long fast gallop under many low hanging branches, after a while you pass Rocamadour  but now it is high above you hanging of the cliffs, eventually we leave the gorge in a south west direction up a steep hill. We are standing in the stirrups to help the horses on this steep climb. Once on top the nature  changes to a gentler environment. Four hours later we arrive at a sunny meadow where Hans his wife Hermine awaits us with yet another gourmet lunch set on a table in the middle of the meadow.  The longest day ends in style  in the paradise of Corinee and Bill.  We approached it from the back through a big hedge, We carry our luggage through the small gardens full of grape vines with delicious grapes and roses passing an inviting pool and pond with goldfish. There we are at :e Vieux Couvent the old convent. The inside is spectacular with fresh cut flowers everywhere not the typical convent atmosphere. In the evening we are spoiled with another perfect dinner. We cannot keep track of the number of courses , it all tastes gourmet and we end up with an after dinner digestive.
Day 6  The Wild Bunch
Today's ride brings some excitement. We pretend we are in the Wild West and gallop up the slopes, make lots of noises and ride with our arms up in the air.  If we stayed another day we would be riding without a saddle.  We ride through fields with resting cows, and cannot resist rounding up some in a wild rodeo. Overnight is back at the riding center in Dégagnac.
Day 7: The final day’s ride is a ‘wind down’ ride, taking you in a completely different direction from where you have come, ensuring that in only a week you will have seen as much as possible of what ‘Le Lot’ has to offer.  
Day 8: Departure after breakfast.
subject to change.

Centre-based Option

It is also possible to enjoy a centre-based holiday for up to 7 nights. Every day after a leisurely breakfast you ride out with Hans in the green valleys and beautiful forests nearby and explore your surroundings – taking different routes each day. Sometimes you will take a saddle-bag lunch and on other days Hermina will be waiting for you in a specially selected spot with a delicious picnic lunch. Later you ride back to the farmhouse for a welcome four-course dinner served with a delicious local Cahors wine.

The Midi-Pyrenees is France's largest region bordering Spain in the south, Languedoc Roussillon in the east and Aquitaine to the west stretching up to the Dordogne in the north. The climate varies, however in the Lot you can expect short cold winters, a warm spring and autumn and hot summers. Even in the winter you still have the odd shorts and t-shirt day.

This trip includes some wine with dinner and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Passports
Passport valid for at least three months beyond length of stay required by all nationals referred to in the chart above except:
(a) 1. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.
Passport Note
France is a signatory to the 1995 Schengen Agreement.

Visas
Not required by all nationals referred to in the chart above for the following durations:
(a) nationals of EU countries for an unlimited period;
(b) nationals of Australia, Canada and the USA for stays of up to 90 days.