Aragon Pyrenees and Ordesa

Route description

Zaragoza, on the Ebro, has the great Basilica del Pilar and the Moorish Aljafería palace. From here the A-23 heads north to Huesca, a quieter town with a Gothic cathedral, at the foot of the first Pyrenean ridges.

North-west of Huesca, Loarre Castle is one of Europe’s best-preserved Romanesque castles, on a rocky spur above the Ebro plain. Then head east and north to Aínsa, a medieval town with an arcaded main square and views of the mountains.

The N-260 runs west from Aínsa through the mountains to Torla, a stone village at the entrance to the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. The Ordesa valley is a glacial canyon of beech woods and waterfalls, and the walk to the Cola de Caballo falls takes a full day.

In summer and at Easter, private cars cannot drive into the Ordesa valley; take the shuttle bus from Torla. Start walks early and check the mountain weather, as storms can build quickly in the afternoon.