Aínsa, Broto, Parque Natural de Ordesa y Monte Perdido (Pirineu Aragones, Aragon Province) - Spain - Snow-capped mountains, rivers, waterfalls and valleys as far as the eye can see plus the 2nd epic hike (Cola de Caballo) on this trip
We leave Andorra and in 5 minutes we’re back in Spain, what a relief... After a wonderful 4 hour drive through the lower pyrenees valley we reach the absolutely gorgeous village of Aìnsa, again voted one of the most beautiful in Spain and deservedly so. We walk around this gorgeous and very well preserved medieval village. There are tourists around, mostly Spanish and French as it's very close to the French border and we can only imagine how busy it gets in the summer. It's also relevant to say that the weather has been absolutely perfect, so we start peeling off the layers as soon as we leave Andorra. After visiting the medieval village, we go to My Pizza and have a lovely pizza and rosé lunch after a pit stop at the supermarket. Then it´s a 40 minute drive to the cute mountain village of Broto which will be our base for our hike the next day. We check in at the Hotel La Pousada, 45 euros, very nice and well run with an excellent location. We check out an amazing waterfall just 200 metres away (check out the video and pics) then go back to the room to rest.
The next day we wake up very early as we plan to do a hike that is over 2,000 metres high and which takes 8 hours. I'm quite scared but somehow Paul thinks we should be OK. When we arrive at the Pradera de Ordesa, it's just 1 degree Celsius and we get started, full of expectation and trepidation. Shortly after we find a sign saying that the very high trail (Senda de los Cazadores & Faja de Pelay) is closed due to strong recent snowstorms and we just have to do the normal trail along the valley floor, 19.8 kms return hike (4 hrs and 40 minutes), I'm so happy!!! It's far from easy and always up and down but it follows a route of the most beautiful rivers, lakes, waterfalls, rapids, forest and snow capped mountains. It's seriously breathtaking, literally and metaphorically, and highly recommended but you definitely need a certain level of fitness to complete it. We loved this region and are already planning a return for an extended hiking holiday. We go back to the town and have a fabulous and very fair lunch (menu 18 euros) at Las Endrinas restaurant, including a litre of wine, also recommended if you are ever in Broto or in this region.
