During the week we visit several of the most beautiful areas in the region, each with their own charm. This is a sample itinerary – the exact routes will depend on the weather and what the group would like to achieve. Each day we offer a choice of two guided hikes – a longer and a shorter option. Each day you can decide which walk to join and it’s no problem to switch between the options during the week.

The shorter hikes are at a relaxed pace, with plenty of time to stop and take in the views, take photographs and enjoy the nature. Expect to hike between 9 to 14 km (5.5 to 8.5 miles) and climb 300 to 500 metres (1000 – 1600 ft) during the day. Paths are generally good underfoot with only a few short steeper sections.

The longer hikes are on steeper rougher paths and venture into more high mountain, alpine terrain. Hikes are between 13 to 20 km (8 to 13.5 miles) with between 700 to 1200 metres (2300 to 3900 ft) of ascent each day.

Sunday – Arrival in Biescas

Arrive in Biescas from Zaragoza. Short briefing to talk through the week and answer any questions you have.

Monday

Low level: Ibon de Piedrafita
Starting at the high village of Piedrafita, we get superb views right from the start. We climb through woodland, alongside mountain streams, until we come out into alpine meadows filled with flowers. The kilometre-high cliffs of the Sierra de Partacua tower above us. Here we find the little lake of Ibon de Piedrafita, nestled under the cliffs. Fantastic spot for raptors with Griffon vultures, Egyptian vultures, short-toed eagles, and kestrels regularly sighted. We hike through the meadows, under the cliffs before descending through the woods, completing a lovely circuit and first days hike.

High level: Punta del Pacino
A beautiful ascent through woodland and meadows to the peak of Punta del Pacino. You do almost a complete circuit of the mountain before ascending to the summit. Its position at the centre of the valley gives fabulous panoramic views of the Valle De Tena – from here we can point out nearly all of the areas you’ll be hiking in for the rest of your holiday. View photo’s, a video and trip report of the Punta del Pacino hike.

Tuesday

San Juan de la Peña monastery

Low level: San Juan de la Peña
The cliffs around San Juan de la Peña are home to colonies of griffon vultures. A beautiful ridge walk above the cliffs gives us a great opportunity to see these huge birds up close and enjoy superb vistas across the Pyrenees. This walk can be combined with a visit to the fascinating medieval monastery complex of San Juan de la Peña.

Lake and Peak Anayet

High level: Pico Anayet (2545m)
Set on a high plateau of peaty grasslands we find Ibon de Anayet. From here we have several choices. We can either relax with a picnic and take in the magnificent views. Alternatively we can tackle the steep and exciting Pico Anayet or the slightly tamer, but with equally impressive views, Vertice de Anayet.

Wednesday

Low level: Valle de Aguas Limpias
Starting at the pretty village of Sallent de Gallego we follow the Rio de Aguas Limpias – the river of clean water – up through a wonderful valley past meadows, woods and waterfalls.

High level: Ibones de Arriel
Some of the most beautiful lake landscapes in the Pyrenees can be found at Ibones de Arriel. The four lakes, lying at different heights, are surrounded by steep granite peaks with Pico Palas taking pride of place.

Thursday: Rest day

Spend a day enjoying the pretty village of Biescas, have a swim in the hotels pool or relax in the sauna. In the evening we’ll visit the local town of Jaca for vino and tapas.

Friday

Low level: Villages of the Serrablo
A walk linking the medieval villages of the Serrablo. These pretty villages are famous for their 11th century romanesque churches. We walk through gentle woodland with views up the Valle de Tena and have a picnic lunch at the semi abandoned village of Susín which has just one remaining inhabitant!

High level: Pic Peyreget

A journey across the border to the French mountain of Pic Peyreget. Magnificent views of Pic du Midi d’Ossau, Balaitous and across the whole valley. The walk wouldn’t be complete without a quick stop at Refugio Pombie for a cold beer!

Saturday

Low level: Rincon de Verde
We follow a mountain stream into a valley that is a great place to see marmots. At the head of the valley lies the Rincon del Verde where sheer 700m cliffs rise above you.

High level: Pico Bacias
This day takes us to the high, wild land above the spa resort of Baños de Panticosa. We pass a series of mountain lakes before an easy ridge scramble to the summit of Pico de Bacias where we get magnificent views across to Vignemale and the Ordesa National Park.

Sunday

Free morning in Biescas before leaving mid-afternoon to catch the evening flight from Zaragoza.

Valle de Tena Explorer

2024 Dates

Sunday 9 – 16 June
Sunday 30 June – 7 July
Sunday 28 July – 4 August
Sunday 22 – 29 Sep

Price

1599 € per person (based on two sharing a double or twin room)
129 € single supplement
175 € junior suite upgrade – per person for 7 nights (225 € for the 28 July – 4 August dates)

Included

7 nights accommodation:
7 x 4* Hotel Tierra de Biescas
Breakfast each morning
Picnic lunches each walking day
6 x 3-course evening meals (each night apart from the rest day)
Meals taken at local restaurants in Biescas each night included – apart from the rest day when we visit Jaca for tapas.
Transfers to and from either Zaragoza airport or train station.
Transport to the walks each day.

Not included

Flights, insurance, drinks with evening meal, lunch and evening meal on the rest day.

Getting to the Pyrenees

From the UK

There are direct flights from London Stansted to Zaragoza. Flight times are as follows:
Depart Stansted 13:50, arrive Zaragoza 17:05
Depart Zaragoza 17:40, arrive Stansted 18:45

You can also fly to Barcelona or Madrid and can catch the AVE fast train to Zaragoza. We pick up at 12:00 midday from Zaragoza train station. Zaragoza has regular direct trains from both Barcelona and Madrid. Trains are roughly every hour and the journey takes 1 hour 30 minutes from either.

Trains that fit well with our arrival transfer are:
Depart Barcelona Sants 10:00 am, arrive Zaragoza Delicias 11:42
or depart Madrid Atocha 10:30 am, arrive Zaragzoa Delicias 11:44

On the return journey, we drop off at the train station at 11:45 am, for the following trains:
Depart Zaragoza Delicias 12:37, arrive Barcelona Sants 14:19
or depart Zaragoza Delicias 12:26, arrive Madrid Atocha 13:45

From outside Europe

Most of our guests from outside of Europe fly via Barcelona or Madrid, combing a stay in one of these two excellent cities with their walking holiday. From either city there are excellent rail links to Zaragoza.

See more travel options and details on our getting here page.

4* Hotel Tierra de Biescas

The four star Hotel Tierra de Biescas is in the heart of the old village, set in lovely grounds with an indoor and outdoor pool.

Each of it’s 51 stylishly furnished rooms have an en-suite bathroom. It has a bar, lounge area with sofa’s, a restaurant and gardens with loungers and tables.

Each morning a breakfast buffet is served with cooked and continental options. Three course evening meals are taken at local restaurants in Biescas each night with a choice of starters, main courses and dessert. Please note wine is not included.

Guests can relax in the the hotel’s spa facilities which include a small indoor swimming pool and sauna. A full range of massage treatments are available. In July and August the outdoor swimming pool is open.

Read more about Hotel Tierra de Biescas.

Hotel Tierra de Biescas - Garden

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Here’s feedback from guests on our Valle de Tena Explorer guided walking holiday. Thanks to everyone that has sent feedback – if you’ve not mailed us any comments yet please do and we’ll add them.

The whole experience from booking onwards was a high standard. Excellent guides who were friendly, flexible and informative. A great variety of hikes. A well run operation.
Di, Valle de Tena Explorer, August 2019

Memories are made doing amazing things with great people. Thanks for the wonderful memories.
Maggie & Scott, Valle de Tena Explorer, July 2019

Exceptional in every way. Guides knowledgeable, accommodating and friendly. The little touches such as cold drinks at the end of hike were brilliant. From start to finish, it couldn’t be better.
Kristie, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2019

I had a fantastic holiday with Hike Pyrenees. Super well organized, great hotel, food was superb – but most of all an amazing area shown off to its best by wonderful local guides who were fun, friendly and so knowledgeable. A great experience – highly recommended.
Lynne, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2019

This was our first hike with Hike Pyrenees and thoroughly enjoyed the variety of walks and great attention from guides, will recommend without hesitation.
Jim & Peggy, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2019

I stumbled upon (pun intended) Hike Pyrenees when I had a few unplanned days in Spain. Booked last minute and I was so pleased! Guides did an amazing job meeting the needs of our very diverse group!
Julie, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2019

Having been a veteran of other holiday companies, this one rated excellent. The walking did not disappoint and exceeded our expectations. The guides, the weather and area combined to make this a very memorable experience – one I would like to repeat in the very near future.
Sarah & Dave, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2019

Juanma and David were wonderful guides. They were friendly and helpful and very knowledgeable about the flora, fauna and geology of the area. The whole Hike Pyrenees team was welcoming and professional, and well organized. I hope very much to come on another holiday with them.
Wendy, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2019

Nothing was to much trouble, the guides were excellent and the walks stunning. I will return.
Trisha, Valle de Tena Explorer, Septiembre 2018.

This was my 2nd trip with Hike Pyrenees and again it was nothing short of amazing. David & Juanma are terrific guides – professional, knowledgeable, fun and always working to accommodate the needs of the whole group. I’d love to do another Hike Pyrenees tour if I return to Spain in future!
Samantha, Valle de Tena Explorer, September 2018.

I’d recommend this trip to both experienced + inexperienced hikers. The guides are knowledgeable, experenced + made me smile often. I just felt happy for the entire tour.
Leah, Valle de Tena Explorer, September 2018.

Met my expectations and so much more. Guides lovely, local and so knowledgeable. Scenery stunning, hotel beautiful. An excellent week which I would highly recommended.
Anna, Valle de Tena Explorer, September 2018.

Fantastic experience!!! Beautiful Pyrenees shown to us by marvelous guides!!! We were taken care of, every step of our journey!!!
Dave & Bev, Valle de Tena Explorer, August 2018.

I was quite a lot younger than the other participants but this didn’t stop me / us from having a challenging + enjoyable hiking experience.
Jo, Valle de Tena Explorer, July 2018.

The Hike Pyrenees team has provided a wonderful experience for me. I stayed in a very good hotel in a lovely village which has plenty of restaurants, bars and shops. The walks were very varied, including mountain tops, rocky tracks, woodland, tarns, streams, waterfalls, a gorge and meadows exhibiting many beautiful wild flowers. I felt compelled to take a huge number of photographs due to the stunning scenery.
As most of the meals and several drinks were included in the cost of the holiday, I spent very little money. Phil and the guides, Hannah and David, were very helpful, informative and flexible in their approach, which enhanced the holiday experience. Tiki’s head waiter showed a great sense of humour, made us feel like valued locals and served really good food.
Duncan, Valle de Tena Explorer, July 2018.

I thoroughly recommend Hike Pyrenees for anyone who wants to hike in stunning scenery with friendly and knowledgeable guides and also enjoy good food, wine and comfortable accommodation with a lovely garden and decent sized swimming pool. The level of customer service and attention to detail offered by Hike Pyrenees was truly exceptional. I enjoyed a wonderful 5 star holiday without paying 5 star prices!
Jane, Valle de Tena Explorer, July 2018.

I enjoyed the holiday.I wanted to do the peaks and passes but it wasn’t possible. I still had a great time. Besicas seemed a quiet place and I wasn’t sure what to do on my rest day and you helped out alot with the picnic and the trip to Jaca. I hardly spent any money on food or other things and that was great as most of the meals were paid for.
Anthony, Valle de Tena Explorer, July 2018.

Not only are the Pyrenees a stunning destination for walking but Phil and the team ensure every walk is suitable for each walker, and the weather conditions. Nothing is left to chance.
Liz & Andy, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.

We enjoyed a wonderful week walking in a stunning location. Hike Pyrenees did everything they could to make an enjoyable holiday.
Joan & Graham, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.

Phil and staff are extremely organised and informative. I had a wonderful time and would book a holiday in the future.
Harve, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.

Nothing too much trouble for Phil and his team and the quality of guides and their levels of knowledge were outstanding.
Susie, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.

Phil’s organisation and communication is excellent.The guides were very kind, knowledgeable and helpful. “Valle de Tena” walks were in a beautiful area. Wonderful wild flowers and waterfalls. Thank you.
Liz, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.

I had a great week, the guides were great, very helpful and thoughtful. The planning was flexible taking into account weather and walkers wishes – Well done.
Diana, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.

Organisation excellent, as were the guides. Guides were very attentive to the needs and abilities of individuals walkers. All in all an excellent week and we would hightly recommend this company to others.
Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.

Phil and team very friendly. Always willing to go “the extra mile”. Their flexibility in organising routes + excursions to cope with bad weather was very good.
Ian & Marina, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.

What an extraordinary experience! Couldn´’t have enough of the magnificent views, flora, hikes and guides. We’d love to come back again.
Erv & Patty, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.

My second trip with Hike Pyrenees and what a treat! Great guides, marvellous flowers. So many orchid! Even though it was supposed to rain most days, they managed to find just the right hikes so we saw many flowers, different parts of the valley, avoided most of the rain. Bravo to Hike Pyrenees and especially Olatz who knew every flower we saw.
Sally, Valle de Tena Explorer, June 2018.