Ordesa y Monte Perdido

After my paragliding course was cancelled, I had a few spare days at the end of August 2006. How better to fill the time than a trip to the Ordesa national park in the Spanish Pyrenees? This amazing valley is less than an hour from the French border. Home to a wide variety of animals - including a species of frog that remained undiscovered until 1992.
		Here is the village of Torla. The 13th Century church of San Salvador in the foreground with the amazing Mondarrruego as a backdrop. Thankfully, you cannot drive into the Ordesa national park. There is a bus service which leaves from Torla every 15-20 minutes. 3.30 euros for the return journey. The authorities limit the number of people in the Ordesa national park to 1800 at any one time.
		Initially the trail is a motorway of people but fortunately not everybody wants to walk all the way up the valley.
		And what a stunning valley it is. The path climbs 680 metres from the coach park to the end of the valley - manageable by anyone who is moderately fit. Monte Perdido (The lost mountain) is visible from the end of the valley. The more adventurous can leave the Ordesa National Park and climb up to the Breche de Roland and walk into France.
		There are sections of the path through the Ordesa National Park that are paved to reduce erosion. Does it detract from the amazing views? Er, yes, but a price worth paying.
Want to see more of Ordesa?