Tour del Aneto
Self Guided Walking
The Tour of Aneto is a mountain route which goes across the heart of the Pyrenees and the Aneto massif. Passing through Posets-Maladeta Natural Park you will see some of the glaciers of Southern Europe and will cross some of the historic passes of the mountain, originating since the ancient times. The accommodation of the tour is in modern lodgings that were old "hospitals" (hostelries) founded in XII century by order of the Knights of Sant Juan of Jerusalem, designed to make the crossing of the mountain passes easier. This tour will take you through 5 valleys, passing 6 hills between the reagions of Val d'Aran, France, Aragon and Catalonia, revealing a great diversity of landscapes and the unique natural and cultural heritage of the region.
Itinerary:
Day 1. Arrival in Vielha, the capital of Val d'Aran.
A short transfer takes you to Artiga de Lin valley, where you can explore the Uelhs deth Joeu area with its springs and beautiful landscapes. A 5 km hike will take you to the starting point of your hike Uelhs deth Joeu, where you will stay for overnight.
Day 2. Uelhs deth Joeu to Hospice de France.
From Uelhs deth Joeu, the trail goes up along some of the local springs. The route takes you through a beech forest towards Pla de la Artiga, the Canal of Pomero and the Collado del Infern (border passage with France). From there, the trail descends through alpine meadows till the Collado de la Montjoia where we see the Luchon valley and Hospice de France, in the background, where we stay for overnight.
Distance for the day: 15 km, up/down: 1045m/1012m, 6-6.30 hours
Day 3. Hospice de France to Hospital de Benasque.
The route today goes on Puerto de Benasque, one of the historic trails of the Pyrenees connecting France with Aragon. The trail goes up to the Boum lakes, form where you continue climbing until you reach the pass revealing fantastic views to the entire Aneto-Maladetas massif. From there you descent on the Peña Blanca trail, set up in the limestone rock to reach the forest and meadows that carry us to the modern Hospital of Benasque, a SPA hotel in Natural Park.
Distance for the day: 15 km, up/down: 1059m/694m, 5 to 5,30 hours.
Day 4. Hospital de Benasque to Benasque.
Today you descend through the valley reaching the town of Benasque. At the beginning the trail takes you to Baños de Benasque, ancient lodging of thermal waters. From there you continue through the "Cami de la Ball", a trail used since XII century for transportation of merchandises between the towns of Zaragoza and Toulouse. In Benasque you can visit the old town, the local government, the Stately houses and the house of the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park.
Distance for the day: 15 km, up/down: 110m/712m, 4 to 4.30 hours
Day 5. Benasque to Castanesa.
You climb through a forest on an old trail connecting Benasque with the village of Cerler You go throughout the entire valley of Ampriu, on the trail located next to the river, descending from the hill, with a great view of Posets, the second summit of the Pyrenees. Once you reach the pass, the landscape changes entirely, and you continue on the south side of the massif through an area covered with alpine meadows. Following a path along Baliera River, you will find the villages of Fonchanina and Castanesa, where you stay for overnight.
Distance for the day: 25km, up/down: 1.142 m/795m, from 6 to 6,30 hours.
Note: The stage from Benasque to Castanesa of 25 km can be reduced by taking a bus that
between the village of Benasque and the Cerler. In this way, the route of the day is shortened to 20 km.
Day 6. Castanesa to Aneto.
From Castanesa you climb a hill from where you go on a rocky road taking you north to Comadelo. The trail goes by a large hillock of meadows, with the Castanesa valley on the left, and the Barraves valley on the right. In front of you to the North the view will reveal you a massif of summits of more than 3000 m., with Ballibierna and Aneto dominating the picture. From Comadelo you descend to Collado de Salinas, where the trail continues to a village carrying the same name ad the highest peak in the region: Aneto.
Distance for the day: 19 km, up/down: 955m/1.095m, from 6,30 to 7 hours.
Day 7. Aneto to Vielha.
From the Aneto village, you go down to the village of Senet. Once you pass the Noguera Ribagorzana River, the trail goes towards the dam of Baserc and the Conangles forest. Following this way, you arrive to the Hospital of Vielha, located on the south side of the tunnel of Vielha, from where you start to ascent by the historic trail of Port de Vielha. On the way you will see some bunkers remains from the war, as well as ancient stone pavement for the cavalries. Before passing it, we will begin to see again, in direction West, all Aneto massifs with your glaciers.Once in the pass, we will start the large descend, first by a mountains cirque and then by a fir forest till arrive to Vielha. In this way, we will have completed the route of Tour of Aneto.
Distance for the day: 16km up/down: + 880m. – 1.465m.
Day 8. Departure
Useful information: ► In the road-book, the customer will find general information about the functioning of the route and detailed information of the stages ►All routes go by marked trail and without any technical difficulty►The suitcase mustn’t weight more than 20 kg / suitcase