The Faja de las Flores is a spectacular high level walk which traverses the northern cliffs of the canyon along a weaker sedimentary layer which is in-cut. ‘Faja’ means girdle in english and the faja paths in Ordesa traverse different parts of the canyon at varying levels. Due to their nature, the faja paths are fairly narrow and a head for heights is often needed, particularly on the Faja de las Flores which is 1km above the valley floor!
This week I had the pleasure of guiding Sean and Sue along this famous route. The weather was perfect; cool in the morning for our monster ascent from the valley floor and beautifully clear skies for fantastic views.
Sean and Sue on their way up to the start of the Faja de las Flores
On the way up there are 2 sets of ‘clavijas’ to tackle (iron pitons placed in the rock to help on steeper sections), and about 1000m of ascent to do.
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- Sue getting to grips with rocky sections on our ascent.
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- Sean making the second set of clavijas look easy!
Once at the start of the route it looks as if there is no place for a path but as you get closer the eroded band shows itself and you can see it winding it’s way along the cliff face.
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- Looking at the improbable Faja de las Flores
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- Sean ready to take on the exposed path.
Once on the narrow traverse path we took our time, enjoyed the views and cautiously looking down at the valley floor.
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- At one point you need to go behind a huge boulder, it was a much better idea than squeezing round the outside of it!
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- Peaking over the edge at the valley floor far below us.
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- Sean and Sue enjoying the path
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- The Faja de las Flores stretching out infront of us.
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- The glaciers erosion is really obvious along most of the path
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- Sean enjoying the Faja de las Flores
At the other end of the traverse we we’re able to get great views of the ‘Breche de Roland’ and the ‘Tres Serols’
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- Sue with the Breche de Roland behind her
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- The ‘Tres Serols’ – Cilindro de Marbores 3325m, Monte Perdido 3355m, Pico de Anisclo 3257m
We had a great day up there and after 17 km and 1150m ascent and of course descent we were all pretty tired but very happy, especially once the G&T was served!
Hannah,
Alix and I are sitting at home in Medford ,MA viewing your great photos of Sean and Sue. They look terrific and did a splendid job; of. Of course, they had a great guide! Best wishes for the rest of the season. It was great to meet you and Sean and Sue. Since we don’t have their emails, I hope they can see this comment. Buen viaje!
Sandy and Alix
It was great to meet you guys to, thanks guys.
Hannah x
Hi
We had a great day and a big thank you to Hannah.
It was lovely have such good company throughout the week.
Love to all
Sue & Sean
Awesome site! I know nothing about the area, but will be visiting next week and am looking for some great trail. Question for you… is the Faja de las Flores passable this time of year (end of November)? Or is there too much snow or and/or storm exposure? Thanks in advance for any info you may have!
Hi Barry,
I’m actually on holiday in Tenerife at the moment so don’t know current snow conditions in the Pyrenees however I’d think that the Faja de las Flores almost certainly has snowon it at the moment (it did when I left two weeks ago). It’s such a narrow path that even a small section of snow makes it unpassable.
The Faja de Pelay will probably also be closed. The Faja Racon which is under the Faja de las Flores is probably your best bet to be open but ask at the park office at the end of the car park in the Pradera.
Another good option if things are snow covered is to head up to the rim of the Añisclo and Ordesa Canyons from Nerin to the place called Cuello Gordo. It’s not a narrow path and therefore doable in snow.
Have a great trip to Ordesa – it’s a beautiful spot.
Phil
Hi Guys,
Looks like a great hike.
A question or 2 please?
Is the area requiring you to scale a wall using the spikes and cable avoidable?
For this cable/spike section, is there an alternative ‘chicken’ route around?
If this is unavoidable is it closer to one end or the other?
Thanks,
Scott
Hi Scott,
Are you referring to the section in the Añisclo canyon in the Ordesa National Park? If so there is now an alternative route to avoid the chains (both are marked on the map as GR11 but actually the route avoiding the chains is the one marked by the red and white stripes on the ground). To avoid the chains you descend down into the head of the Añisclo Canyon (a beautiful place called Fon Blanca and a good place to camp if you want to avoid the chaos of Refugio Goriz!) and then back up again. It’s quite a bit of descent and ascent as travelling esast to west the Collado de Añisclo is 2453m and Fon Blanca is 1650m, you then need to climb up to Collado de Goriz at 2343m. The chains avoid all of this ascent and descent but you need a good head for heights.
Cheers,
Phil
Hello,
I’m thinking of doing this hike and was wondering how long the ferrata section of the hike is? I’m a bit nervous about this bit and just trying to prepare myself. Thanks so much for your help!
Hey! Looks incredible! My family is heading there in April. My husband and I have 4 kids and we are avid hikers/backpackers. I can’t find anything about the Faja de Flores for kids. Do you know any kids who have done it? Ours are ages 9, 12, 14, 16,
Thanks!
Kim