After our great hiking start in the France part of the Pyrenees we moved on to Spain, due to the changing weather conditions. One hour before we reached the Hotel Restaurante Lamiana, I could have sworn we need to sleep in the car with 4 degrees outside temperature. But with crossing from Fabian (France) – where all campsites were still closed – to the sunny 20 degree Spain, we got an unexpected evening. With being the only guest on the campsite, we also had the whole terrace of the hotel for ourselves which is facing directly in the Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido.
Gargantas de Escuaín
The first hike we did in the Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido was on the GR15/GR19 to Escuaín. We were able to start the hike directly from the campsite and it let us to the Gargantas de Escuaín which is an amazing gorge, that can be looked at from the several Miradors in Escuáin itself.
Refugio de Foratarruego
Even that we did not plan for it we stayed on the campsite of the Hotel Restaurante Lamiana for 6 days, as it was a great location to explore the hikes starting from there or nearby. The second hike in the Ordesa Park we started from Revilla to Refugio de Foratarruego. The hike includes the Mirador de San Lorién and Miradores de Revilla, which are at the beginning of the trail. Further it is going right up to the Refugio de Foratarruego.
Canal del Cinca
As there are no gondolas in the National Park, we rarely met anyone on the trails as every accent and descent had to be hiked. The next hike we did was the Canal del Cinca, which was compared to the first hikes in the park one of the shorted and easiest to hike.
Valle de Pineta
After hiking four trails in the Valle de Escuaín we decided to do a hike in the Valle de Pineta. It turned out that this one would be our longest and hardest of all we did so far. We choose to hike from the parking slot to the Faja de las Olas and from there to the Cascada del Cinca. The hike turned more out to be a climbing exercise than anything else. I mean the views were amazing but for me it was way too difficult – including 6 snowfield crossings (where I broke into one, as the snow was melting too much), hiking through the Cascada del Cinca (as the bridge was not build for the session yet) and rappelling from a 5-meter wall in pure rain.
Pico Castillo Mayor
For our last day we choose a hike that started in Escuaín once more around the Pico Castillo Mayor.
With a lot of amazing nature impressions and the realization that Europe is beautiful, we left the Pyrenees. Once more with a clear view over the Switzerland Alps. On our short trip to this nature and hiking heaven, we could not have asked for anything more. The weather, the nature, the hikes, the people, the campgrounds where great and left us only with the question when can we go back.
