Via ferrata routes follow ladders, iron pitons and cables attached to the rock face allowing you to safely tackle routes that previously were only available to experienced climbers.

Vias ferratas are sometimes located in mountains which summits you can also reach on hiking paths, but most of the time they allow to reach mountain areas that would not be accessible by other means.

But that doesn’t mean that a via ferrata is simply a kind of “extreme hill walking”: you might need a base of climbing skills in some situations.

So if you don’t have climbing experience, we would recommend to practice via ferrata with a mountain guide.

Technical individual equipment for via ferrata should include walking gear, helmet, harness, gloves and a specific via ferrata lanyard. A via ferrata lanyard consists in an energy absorber with two arms ended with karabiners, and a means of connecting to the harness.

You will use the karabiners to connect to the cables that are attached to the rock and will prevent you to drop more than a couple of meters in case of fall.

Via ferrata are not as common in the Pyrenees as they are in the Alps, but you can find some nice and easy ones in the area around Biescas and Valle de Tena that will be perfect for an introduction to this activity. We have listed the main vias ferratas you will find in the surrounding area and that are in good conditions for practice:

– Santa Elena. Easy and short route. Located at 5 km from Biescas. 2 min walk from car park. Suitable all year around.
– Riglos. Medium difficulty route. Located at 1h30 from Biescas. 1h30 walk from car park. Warm area in summertime.
– Sorrosal. Challenging route. Located at 45min from Biescas. Better in summertime.
– Foradada del Toscar. Difficult route, and not in so good condition as the previous routes . Located 1h20 from Biescas. Better in wintertime.