Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Aragon, Spain

Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park is one of the great natural wonders of Spain, hidden in the high central Pyrenees of northern Aragon near the French border. Established in 1918 as one of the country’s first two national parks and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997, it protects a magnificent mountain landscape built around Monte Perdido, at 3,355 metres the highest limestone massif in Europe. From its snow-streaked summit, four deep glacial valleys — Ordesa, Añisclo, Escuaín and Pineta — radiate outwards, each a canyon of soaring cliffs, hanging forests and tumbling water, together forming some of the most dramatic and best-loved walking country in the whole Pyrenean chain.

What to See

The showpiece is the Ordesa Valley itself, a broad, U-shaped glacial trough walled by immense tiered cliffs and carpeted with beech and pine, through which a well-marked path climbs beside the Arazas river past a series of waterfalls — among them the beautiful “Horsetail” fall (Cola de Caballo) at the valley head, the classic day-walk of the park. The wilder Añisclo and Escuaín gorges offer narrow, plunging canyons, while the Pineta valley opens up grand views straight to the north face of Monte Perdido and its glacier. The park teems with wildlife, including chamois, marmots, golden eagles and the great bearded vulture (quebrantahuesos), and its alpine meadows blaze with wildflowers in early summer. Serious walkers can push higher to cirques, high passes and the peak itself, but even the valley-floor paths deliver scenery of the first order.

How to Get There and Practical Information

The main gateway to the park is the village of Torla-Ordesa, about 50 kilometres north of the city of Huesca and roughly two and a half hours’ drive from Zaragoza. From Torla a road — and, in the busy summer and autumn months, a compulsory shuttle bus — leads to the Pradera de Ordesa car park at the mouth of the Ordesa Valley, the starting point for most walks; the other valleys are reached via mountain villages such as Escalona, Nerín and Bielsa. A car is the easiest way in, as public transport into the mountains is limited. The park is free to enter, though the seasonal shuttle is ticketed and private cars are barred from the Ordesa valley at peak times, so plan ahead. This is high mountain country, so take sturdy boots, warm and waterproof layers and plenty of water, and set out early; late spring to early autumn is the ideal season.