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Spain: Alto Aragon - The Spanish Pyrenees

Tour code: JAR
Revised: December 2008

This tour is a good choice for a summer hike, in a fascinating and generally quiet mountain region that is well off the beaten tracks of the higher Pyrenees. The route is truly spectacular in places, taking in some of the finest landscapes in Spain on the fringes of the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park. You cross two passes of over 2000m, which are normally free of snow by mid-June. On the way are forests, plateaus, terraced hillsides, charming villages, deep canyons and broad valleys. There is plenty of historical interest, notably the well-preserved mediaeval town of Ainsa, which has an important place in the history of Spanish rechristianisation, and the overthrow of the Moors. Apart from in Bielsa, accommodations are fairly simple, but reflect something of the area we pass through. There are good opportunities for wildlife viewing: Chamois, Ibex and Lammergeyer Vultures are all present. Deer and Marmots are also much in evidence! Alpine flowers are also ubiquitous in the higher pastures. This is an ‘authentic’ part of Spain without the excesses of tourism that you sometimes see there. A knowledge of some Spanish or a good phrase book is useful for this very reason.


Travel Information

Arrival: Afternoon/early evening of day 1.

First hotel: At Bielsa, 13 km/8 miles south of the Tunnel de Bielsa (French/Spanish frontier).

Travel: Most convenient airport: is Toulouse. The fastest route from Britain, and that used for our UK-based full-package customers, is by air to Toulouse. Daily direct flights on British Airways from London Heathrow; flight time 2 hours. (Or fly via Paris from most regional airports in the U.K. then train or fly to Toulouse. Or take the car by ferry or tunnel to Calais then drive via Paris, Toulouse, and the Bielsa Tunnel.)
Low cost airlines Easyjet, Jet2 and Flybe also fly to Toulouse from a number of UK airports. These flights can be used in conjuntion with our ‘land only’ arrangements.

Onward travel from Toulouse: Airport bus to Toulouse Matabiau rail station (30min) and train to Lannemezan (1 hr 15 mins) then connecting rail bus to St Lary (55 mins), from where you will be collected and driven through the Bielsa Tunnel and over (or rather under) the Spanish border to Bielsa (45 mins).

Through ticketing Toulouse to St Lary. e.g departures from Toulouse for St Lary at 10.05 and 13.57. A later departure from Toulouse at 17.15, arriving St Lary at 19.42 (Sundays 19.51), would mean arrival at Bielsa at around 21.00 (Sundays 21.15); it may still be possible to obtain an evening meal in Bielsa at this time. Check train times before booking this tour or travelling. This can be done on the Internet on www.sncf.com.

Trains from Paris: It is possible to travel by early morning train from Paris to Lannemezan, changing trains at Tarbes or Toulouse. E.g. one could depart Paris on Mondays to Saturdays at 07.25 (TGV, change trains at Tarbes) arrive Lannemezan 15.06. At Lannemezan change onto SNCF bus to St Lary. Note that as this bus route is run by SNCF the bus timetable is available on the SNCF web site.

Arrival via Spain: Bielsa is 300km/180 miles from the international airport at Barcelona and 230km/150 miles from the smaller airport at Zaragoza. Public transport links are currently slow and inconvenient but you could consider hiring a car.

End of Tour: Tour ends at Bielsa after breakfast on day 8.  Private road transfer via tunnel to St Lary, then rail bus to Lannemezan and train to Toulouse. Journey times for through ticketing St Lary to Toulouse as below.

2008 timetable (2009 time available 2 months before travel)
Leave Bielsa    St Lary    Arrive Toulouse Matabiau
05.30                                    09.59*
07.45                                    12.22
* except Sundays in June and September when arrival in Toulouse is at 10.37.
Check times before booking and traveling. Times can be checked for your day of travel on the Internet on www.sncf.com

Season: Mid-June to end September. The accommodation can be heavily booked in August, so if you want to travel at that time then better book early!


Level of Difficulty

Grade: Challenging.

Fitness: This challenging walk is designed to appeal to the fit and experienced walker/hiker. The first walking day is strenuous so you do need to be in good shape before you start the tour. You should be competent at map reading and compass work. Because of the remote and rugged terrain this self-guided tour is not available to solo travellers.

Day stages: 10km to 26km (6-15 miles) per day with average altitude gains of 900m, but over 1000m on some days.  Walking 5 to 8 hrs a day. The 4th walking day (from Nerin to Ainsa) can be shortened by using a car transfer (included in tour price) at the start of the day, starting at the village of Buerba. The seventh day can be shortened by starting at the village of Sin rather than Plan.

Waymarks: The trails are generally well waymarked. But they can be spaced and hard to find on some sections. You do need to be able to cope with rough trails that are in places somewhat overgrown with vegetation and with mountain streams, which may be swollen after heavy rain. The maps are not as accurate as British maps of a similar scale (1:40,000 and 1:50,000).


General Information

Baths: it is not normal for your room to have a bath, the main reason being that it takes up a lot of space, some hotels/guesthouses may have a separate room in the house where a bath is available to guests, but in the main it is showers. There is generally a serious water shortage in Spain.

 Breakfast: in countries such as Spain usually consists of coffee and toast/croissant, if you want more for breakfast then we would suggest you purchase some food the night before. It is important for you to tell us if you have any dietary requirements when you book your holiday  so that we can inform everyone that you are staying with.

Language: Note that you will not necessarily come across people speaking English. Remember you have left home to find things different bring a phrase book, try to learn a bit of Spanish!

Luggage: Note that on this tour there are no baggage transfers between Hospital de Tella and Nerin, you therefore need a rucksack big enough to carry a change of clothing and footwear and your toothbrush for 1 overnight / 2 walking days (details below). When staying in hotels, sometimes your luggage will have been taken to you room awaiting your arrival. However don’t be surprised if your luggage is waiting at reception for you to take it up to your room please politely ask someone if you need assistance.

Accommodation & Meals

Accommodation is in small hotels& guesthouses. Six evening meals, six breakfasts and four packed picnic lunches are included in the tour price. In Ainsa only, you will stay on a room only basis.

q      Nights 1 & 7: Our 3* hotel in Bielsa is a large modern building just below the old town. There is a great restaurant and bar, and the dinner is well prepared, presented and includes a local wine. This small town has bars, several supermarkets, a pharmacy, and a tourist information office.

q       Nights 2 & 3: These nights are spent at a small family-run guesthouse and restaurant on the banks of the river Cinca at Hospital de Tella. There is a terrace and a bar with a vaulted ceiling.  There are 4 twin-bedded rooms with en suite facilities and 2 rooms without private facilities. There is no other bar, restaurant or shop nearby.

q       Night 4: In the small and very pretty village of Nerin our 2* hotel has got comfortable rooms with en-suite bathroom. There is a bar, and the restaurant serves good food. There is no shop or other facilities in this remote village.

q       Night 5: In Ainsa we stay near to the church in the historic square of the town. The old building has been recently converted to a guesthouse. There are two double-bedded rooms and six twin-bedded, all modern, well kept and with en-suite facilities. Breakfast in Ainsa is not included but all you need to do is pop out to a nearby café for your breakfast. If the guesthouse is fully booked a nearby 1* hotel also provides good service.

q       Night 6:  In Lafortunada we use a 1* hotel with its own restaurant. The rooms have en-suite facilities. There is a bar, in the centre of the village but it may not be open.


Outline Itinerary

q       Day 1: Arrival at first hotel in Bielsa. Depending on your time of arrival there should be an opportunity to explore the town. Bielsa was heavily bombed in the Spanish Civil War in 1938, as the Republican Army escaped up the valley into France. This explains why the town is a bit of a hotch-pot of building styles. Nevertheless there is an interesting square and a church, which amazingly survived the bombing. To explore the beautiful Valle de Pineta, which extends to the foot of Monte Perdido you really need an extra day in Bielsa and a car!

q       Day 2: Bielsa (1050m) to Hospital (this is a place-name, not an institution!). 16.5km/10 miles. 7-8 hours. Total Ascent 1200m, descent 1540m. Features of the day include fine views of the Valley of Pineta, forest tracks, open Alpine meadows, a mountain pass at 2060m called ‘El Portillo de Tella.’ Good bird viewing potential and maybe chamois. You then descend to the pretty village of Tella famous for its witches and an ancient dolmen (neolithic burial chamber). The day ends with a descent into the Cinca valley and your guesthouse at Hospital de Tella.

q       Day 3: Hospital to Escuain, return to Hospital. 9.5km / 6 miles. 4-5 hours. Total Ascent 750m, descent 300m. The route follows the River Yaga, passing through the almost abandoned hamlet of Estamilla and into a very rich natural habitat with a wide variety of vegetation. The table topped mountain of Castillo Mayor commands the view to the south, while Monte Perdido and the Tres Marias are a short distance to the north. Escuain is a pretty village with a few people working on the land. There are some attractive old buildings and a little tourist information, which has details about the Lammergeyers who inhabit the area. You will be collected at Escuain at about 17:00 and returned to Hospital.

q       Day 4: Hospital, drive to Bestue, walk to Nerin. 13km/7 miles. Total ascent 1120m, descent 1105m. 6-8 hours. There is a car transfer at start of day to Bestue (1220 metres) - included in tour. This is another old village which is slowly being done up and relived in for at least part of the year. There is then a lot of down and up then down and up again until you reach Nerin, as you go crossing the fantastic Anisclo Canyon, which has a long spanned medieval parabolic stone bridge. On this walk at certain points you may look down upon Lammergeyers, Griffon Vultures or peregrines flying below you. The last part of the day is the ascent to Nerin (1281m) and from the village looking back down the valley you can get nice alpenglow views of Castillo Mayor.

q       Day 5: Nerin, drive to Buerba, walk to Ainsa. From Nerin to Buerba (8km/5miles) we provide a car transfer included in tour price. Buerba to Ainsa (on foot) is 23 km/14 miles, but we recommend that you take a taxi from the small town of Boltana (not included) to reduce the walk and give you more time in Ainsa. Total ascent 535m, descent 1030m. Buerba has an interesting church.  You cross a remote mountain region, which has many signs of rural depopulation, such as abandoned terraces, chapels and hamlets. The walk is mostly descent, but with a quite steep pull up to the pass called ‘El Portillo de los Valles’ and then on a broad forest track descending to Boltana (643m), which has a precarious ruined castle. There are alternative paths along the valley for the last 8km to Ainsa (589m), should you wish to continue the walk that is reasonably pleasant alongside the river Ara.

q      Ainsa is a major small town with a number of service and tourist shops. The main attraction is the old upper town, which is walled and has a main square and a few old streets leading off it. There are many restaurants on the square to try different dishes. Beyond this there is an old fortress, which has a wall walkway from where if it is clear you can see a panorama stretching back to Monte Perdido and the French border. Listen out for Nightingales and Warblers in June! Another good viewpoint is that from the other side of the River Cinca where if you cross the bridge, you will get a good view back to the upper town.

q       Day 6: Ainsa to Lafortunada. 23 km/14 miles, total ascent 780m, descent 600m. A day following the Cinca valley, passing through several villages and along forested slopes above the river. The towering walls of Pena Montanesa provide an impressive backdrop as you go. The final 10 km you follow the Cinca bankside path until you reach the hydroelectric village of Lafortunada, a sleepy place, but there is a hamlet called Badain across the river, which has an interesting church you can ascend to.

q       Day 7: This day is the longest and perhaps hardest of all: Road transfer from Lafortunada to Plan (1120m), then walk over the mountains to Bielsa while the baggage continues by road. Distance 26km / 16 miles. Total ascent: 1300m, descent 1400m. Around 8 hours. A shorter option is possible via Sin, saving about 2 hours from the start of the walk. The walk takes you along terrace margins and through little villages before climbing through the pastures which get progressively alpine with good groups of flower including narcissi, columbines and primulas / cowslips.  You cross a mountain pass at 2116m called ‘Cruz de la Guardia’ and then descend exploring wild forests and hidden valleys, until you turn out of the valley and there is the distance is Bielsa again. Reach the hotel and you have completed the circuit!

q       Day 8: Morning departure from Bielsa.


Baggage Transfers

Your baggage (20kg per person) is transferred for you when you move to a new accommodation. However there is normally no baggage transfer service to or from Nerin (night 4); baggage will be transferred direct from Hospital de Tella to Ainsa and you will need therefore to carry overnight gear on days 4 and 5. Customers wishing to spend an extra night in Nerin should enquire about the possibility of baggage transfers to and from Nerin; there would be an extra charge for this service.


Extra Nights

These can be booked anywhere along the route. We suggest Ainsa, for a rest day in a small historic town, or Bielsa, from which there are interesting day walks along the Valle de Pineta. If you are spending an extra night in one of the smaller centres such as Nerin you will need to order and pay for your own packed lunch for the extra day on arrival.

   
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