Pyrenees, nature in its purest form.
🌿 TYPE OF TRIP
Nature and sport
🤔 BEST TIME TO TRAVEL TO THE PRINEOS
MAY: Depending on your preferences, you'll always find the perfect activity in the Pyrenees. In winter, you can enjoy the snow and related sports. In warmer seasons, you can enjoy excursions, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and more. Keep in mind that winters have very low temperatures, and summers are hot and dry. In May, you can experience a magical moment when the melting snow on the slopes gives life to hundreds of streams that begin to fill the reservoirs and lakes. It's a time of life and bloom for plants, flowers, and trees.
✔ WHAT TO DO IN THE PRINEOS
Majestic mountains and glaciers that recall the mountain range's origins, protected areas, natural parks, glacial lakes, valleys, wild rivers, and ravines that beckon adventurers… These are the ingredients that make up the Pyrenees. This mountain range is considered the mecca of Spanish high-altitude mountaineering, home to the highest peaks in the Pyrenees (188 peaks exceeding 3,000 meters, including Aneto, Posets, and Monte Perdido). This Pyrenean paradise preserves and showcases its traditions, the vernacular architecture of its villages, and above all, it is ideal for outdoor activities and adventure sports on land, water, air, and snow.
🌮 YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE PYRENEES WITHOUT TRYING IT
The cuisine of the Aragonese Pyrenees is very diverse, rooted in traditional and sustainable mountain gastronomy with typical products but increasingly incorporating innovative touches. Local products such as cheeses, Pyrenean wine and beers, cured meats, mushrooms, Embún mushrooms, and, of course, truffles and game meats like hare, wild boar, rabbit, and partridge hold a prominent place. Some of its most classic dishes include Migas a la Pastora (shepherd's breadcrumbs), Chiretas (a type of sausage), Ternasco Aragonés (Aragonese lamb), tortetas (a type of flatbread), and crespillos de borraja (borage fritters).
👁🗨 CURIOSITIES OF THE PRINCES
In most Pyrenean houses, there are finials or symbols placed above the chimneys to protect the homes from intrusions by witches and magical beings: witch-scarers. Traditionally, these were made and carved from tufa, a type of very light and porous rock. They also commonly have a small hole that whistles in the wind. Chimneys played an essential social role in the lives of the mountain people, as the fire and hearth were where families gathered each night to talk and tell stories.
😎 MISS WOOD'S TIP
Lose yourself in Roques de la Villa (also known as the Great Wall of Huesca or the Great Wall of Finestres), a natural treasure located in the Ribagorza region, in the heart of the Montsec mountain range. The best way to visit it is by exploring its two hermitages, San Marcos and San Vicente. From the former, there are spectacular views of the wall and the Canelles reservoir, and to reach the latter, you must climb to the crest of the rock face. Its excellent location makes it the perfect excursion to breathe in some peace and quiet, something not so easy to find these days.
5 MUST-SEE PLACES IN THE PRINEOS
1. ORDESA AND MONTE PERDIDO: Declared a National Park in 1918 and a World Heritage Site in 1997, it is located in the Aragonese Pyrenees, entirely within the Sobrarbe region (Aragon). It boasts the largest limestone massif in the world and one of the tallest waterfalls in Europe. It's one of those places you have to see at least once in your life…
2. BENASQUE VALLEY: The Aneto, Posets and Perdiguero peaks form the perfect backdrop for a valley that offers sports, adventure, ski resorts, routes for children and adults and examples of Romanesque art, among many other attractions.
3. CANFRANC STATION: It has been more than 40 years since a train stopped at this station. Inaugurated on July 18, 1928, this old railway station has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest and listed as a monument since March 6, 2002. Its ghostly appearance has been the setting for numerous film and television productions.
4. LANUZA: The village of Lanuza is located in the Tena Valley. It has its own unique features, such as large stone houses, steep slate roofs, medieval bridges, and coats of arms carved in stone. In 1978, the villagers had to abandon their homes due to the construction of the reservoir. The original village remains submerged, and canoes now navigate its underwater rooftops.
5. Añisclo Canyon: Located within the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park is this impressive canyon carved by the Añisclo River. A narrow, winding road runs its length, allowing us to enjoy this fantastic landscape.
Plan a trip around the peninsula to visit this and other places. Don't forget to mark it on your Woody Map Natural Spain .