Discover 5 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park (Spain). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Ordesa Valley, Monte Perdido, and Cascade Peaks. Also, be sure to include Soum de Ramond in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park (Aragon).
Table of Contents
Ordesa Valley
Also known as: Valle de Ordesa
Deep canyons and multiple day-hike routes. The Ordesa Valley is a glacial valley in Aragon, in the Spanish Pyrenees which forms part of the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. It was first discovered in 1820, but not mapped in detail until approximately the 1920s. The valley is about 11 kilometres long.
The valley's east–west orientation, unusual in the Pyrenees, opens it to influence from the Atlantic Ocean and gives it a moderate climate. It has one of Europe's largest populations of the Pyrenean Chamois and is well known for its waterfalls and wildlife.
Monte Perdido (3,355 m) is the third highest mountain in the Pyrenees and together with Cilindro de Marboré (3,328 m) and Soum de Ramond (3,263 m) can be seen at the north-east end of the valley. The name Monte Perdido (lost mountain) was given because the peak could not be seen from the French side of the range.[1]
Monte Perdido
National park peak with hiking and more. Monte Perdido is the third highest mountain in the Pyrenees. The summit of Monte Perdido, located in Spain, lies hidden from France by the seemingly impenetrable peaks of the Cirques of Gavarnie and Estaubé. It stands in the north of Huesca province. The mountain forms part of the Monte Perdido Range and is located in the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, in the western part of the Pyrenees, in the community of Aragon, Spain.
Access to the mountain is easier from Spain than from France. The route starts near the village of Torla, Aragon, at the Ordesa Valley and ascends the Cirque de Soaso towards the Refuge of Góriz before the stiff climb to the summit. It is a dangerous climb with snow.
Monte Perdido Glacier, locating on the north-facing slope of Monte Perdido, is the third largest glacier in the Pyrenees. It is surrounded by vertical cliffs up to 800m in height. Similar to most European glaciers, the Monte Perdido Glacier has been shrinking since the Little Ice Age, and since 1981, the glacier has lost 48 hectares of surface area. The rate of retreat is continuing to accelarate due to the effects of global climate change.[2]
Cascade Peaks
Summit in France. The Cascade Peaks are three summits in the Monte Perdido Range of the Pyrenees, culminating at 3,161 m on the eastern peak. The central peak, known as Brulle, and the western peak are 3,106 m and 3,095 m high, respectively. The peaks are located on the 3,000 m French-Spanish borderline crest.[3]
Soum de Ramond
Mountain in Spain. Soum de Ramond, also known as Pico de Añisclo in Spanish and Aragonese, is a mountain of 3,263 metres in the Monte Perdido massif in the Aragonese Pyrenees in northern Spain. It is one of the three mountains comprising Las Tres Sorores, the others being Monte Perdido and Cilindro de Marboré.
The mountain lies between the Ordesa Valley, the Añisclo Canyon and the Pineta Valley, inside the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. The Aragonese name "Pico Anyisclo" originates from the eponymous valley in the Aragonese Pyrenees. Later on, the mountain was named "Soum de Ramond" after Louis Ramond de Carbonnières, the French politician, geologist and botanist.[4]
Pyrénées – Mont Perdu World Heritage Site
The Pyrénées – Mont Perdu World Heritage Site is a World Heritage Site straddling the border between Spain and France in the Pyrenees mountain chain. The summit of Monte Perdido is on the Spanish side of the border. The site was designated in 1997 and extended north in 1999 to include the Commune of Gèdre in France.
The site includes two bordering national parks: the entire Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park in Spain and the eastern part of Pyrénées Occidentales National Park in France. The World Heritage Site comprises a total area of 30,639 hectares.[5]