Ordesa the right way round: up the Cazadores, home along the Faja de Pelay

Torla-Ordesa

A guided full circuit of the Ordesa canyon - 800 m of climb before the sun, three level hours on a cliff ledge, and lamb in Torla.

1. 6:45 am 1

   First shuttle from Torla into the valleyTorla-Ordesa

   The valley road is closed to private cars from 19 June to 20 September and on the shoulder-season weekends listed on the park site. The shuttle is six euros return; it runs every fifteen to twenty minutes from eight, but only every half hour before that. Take the 06:45 - you want the Cazadores climb finished before the sun reaches the wall.

   3 min walk · 0 m
2. 7:20 am 2

   Meet the guide at Pradera de OrdesaTorla-Ordesa

   An AEGM mountain guide for the day, split four ways. Worth paying for on this route specifically: the Cazadores has an exposed ladder-and-chain section near the top, and the weather over Monte Perdido turns by lunchtime far more often than the forecast admits.

   3 min walk · 0 m
3. 7:40 am 3

   Senda de los Cazadores: 800 m straight upTorla-Ordesa

   Unrelenting - 800 m of switchbacks in two and a half kilometres, in beech shade the whole way. Walk it UP and never down: the Faja is the reward and it has to come second, and the loose upper section is genuinely unpleasant descending.

   8 min by train or taxi · 4.0 km
4. 10:15 am 4

   Mirador de CalcilarruegoTorla-Ordesa

   The balcony where the canyon suddenly drops 700 m below your boots. This is where the day stops being work and starts being a walk - sit down, eat something, everyone does.

   5 min walk · 400 m
5. 10:45 am 5

   Faja de Pelay: three flat hours on a ledgeTorla-Ordesa

   A natural terrace cut across the cliff face, almost dead level, with the whole canyon open on your right and the Cotatuero waterfalls opposite. No water and no shade for three hours - this is where the two litres go.

   8 min by train or taxi · 4.3 km
6. 1:30 pm 6

   Picnic below the Cola de CaballoTorla-Ordesa

   Buy the bocadillos at the Torla bakery the night before - the Pradera kiosk opens at nine, which is too late for this itinerary. Refugio de Goriz is 45 minutes further up and sells soup, but beds there are booked out months ahead and day walkers get short shrift.

   3 min walk · 0 m
7. 2:30 pm 7

   Valley floor home past the Gradas de SoasoTorla-Ordesa

   Easy river path with the stepped cascades the whole way down. Two hours if you push, three if you swim in the pools below the Gradas. Last shuttle out of the Pradera is seven in high season and it is a nine-kilometre road walk if you miss it.

   8 min by train or taxi · 2.6 km
8. 8:30 pm 8

   Ternasco at El DuendeTorla-Ordesa

   A dozen tables in a stone house off the main street. Ring at breakfast to hold one; by the time you walk out of the park it is gone. Roast ternasco - Aragonese milk-fed lamb - is the thing here.