Walking in the Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are at their highest and most spectacular in Aragon which lies at the centre of the range.
Here you can find the three highest summits of the Pyrenees – Aneto (3404m), Pico Posets (3375m) and Monte Perdido (3355m) as well as the spectacular deep canyons of the Ordesa National Park.
We’ve walking holidays in three of the best hiking areas of the Pyrenees – the Valle de Tena, the Ordesa National Park and the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park. All three offer fantastic hiking and scenery.
Valle de Tena
From it’s alpine meadows to it’s rocky three thousand metre peaks the Valle de Tena really does have walks to suit everyone.
Deep wooded valleys with streams and waterfalls give way to bare rocky high mountains scenery as you climb towards the summits.
The valley stretches twenty kilometres from the cliffs of the Sierra de Partacua and Tendeñera north to the French border and is flanked by numerous peaks on each side. Several deep side valleys mean you’ll discover new vistas with each corner you turn.
Mountain villages with stone houses and winding streets are nestled amongst the mountains and our Village to Village self guided holiday lets you stay in some lovely spots.
Our guided walking holidays are based in either the village of Biescas at the southern end of the valley or Sallent de Gallego nestled under the high border peaks.
Read more about walking in the Valle de Tena.
The Ordesa National Park
Established in 1918 the Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido is Spain’s first national park and an undisputed highlight of the Pyrenees with some of the most magnificent scenery in Europe
Kilometre deep canyons are carved into the limestone and lye beneath snowcapped peaks. At the centre of the park lies Monte Perdido – the third highest summit in the Pyrenees. Another dozen three thousand metre summits are strung along the French border along with the famous pass of Breche de Roland.
In 1997 the park was made a UNESCO world heritage site for it’s incredible diversity of flora and fauna. If you’re a nature lover you’ll love the park which is famous for it’s birds of prey and one of the few remaining homes of the lammergeier – one of the largest vultures in Europe.
The four deep canyons of the park offer dramatic walking and each canyon has trails of all lengths and difficulties. You can walk in the beautiful beech woods admiring the cliffs above or climb up to the dramatic ‘faja’ paths – narrow ledges that wind around the cliff faces.
The village of Torla – known as the gateway to Ordesa – is the base for our Discover Ordesa walking holiday.
Read more about walking in the Ordesa National Park.
The Posets-Maladeta Park
The Posets-Maladeta Parque Natural takes it’s name from the two highest massifs in the Pyrenees and contains the largest concentration of three thousand metre peaks anywhere in the Pyrenees.
Formed in 1994 the park has stunning scenery with meadows, beech and pine woods in the valleys and rocky summits with glaciers and exposed ridges.
The park is split in by the Valle de Benasque with the Posets to the west and Maladeta to the east. The northern frontier of the park is a long ridge running along the French border.
Porous limestone areas form many ‘foraus’ where streams disappear into large caves and holes and travel underground. The parks granite zones have beautiful mountain lakes which lie under the rocky peaks.