Naturally, here are the Candanchu and Astún slopes on the one hand, and Panticosa and Formigal on the other, but these valleys offer much more and the good temperatures help to enjoy it with intensity.

JACA, ON FOOT AND BY PLANE

The journey begins in Jaca, gateway to the Pyrenees and capital of the Jacetania region. Always lively and with interesting bars and restaurants, it is necessary to visit its Citadel, also called Castillo de San Pedro, which dates back to the 16th century and is in excellent condition.

Walking through its old town we find a beautiful example of Romanesque: the Cathedral of San Pedro de Jaca, from the 11th century, which King Sancho Ramírez ordered to build to consolidate what was the first capital of the kingdom of Aragon. It is considered the first Romanesque cathedral in Spain. The city center also preserves a magnificent sample of modernist architecture. On the outskirts, after a pleasant 15-minute walk, there is the medieval bridge of San Miguel, approximately from the 15th century, which spans the course of the Aragón River with up to 17 meters high in its central arch and with a curious asymmetric shape.

If you have tired of walking and are eager to see the landscape, a plan that is organized from the nearby Santa Cilia Aerodrome is to fly over the Citadel and the nearby mountains by plane. It costs from 108 euros and it couldn’t be more exciting. There are different options to see Ordesa, the Mallos de Riglos and even the Monastery of Leyre in Navarre.

Very close to Jaca there are two places that are essential to visit for their architectural beauty and the environment.

SANTA CRUZ DE LA SERÓS

It is as small as it is spectacular. Just 15 km from Jaca, it has an impressive architectural heritage formed by the church of San Caprasio and the church of Santa María. Two marvelous Aragonese Romanesque jewels that complete a picture-postcard historic center.

MONASTERY OF SAN JUAN DE LA PEÑA

It is an unforgettable and legendary place that you find going up a very narrow road surrounded by a green and wooded landscape and facing the Peña Oroel. At a turn of the road, this wonder carved out of the rock appears: the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña. To visit it, you have to continue a kilometer and a half higher and park in the space set up next to the so-called New Monastery, an imposing Baroque building to which the monks ended up moving.

Its rooms are full of secrets and treasures such as the Royal Pantheon, a magnificent pre-Romanesque church, the paintings of San Cosme and San Damiano and the Gothic chapel of San Victorián, and the 12th century cloister has a valuable gallery of carved capitals.

ORDESA AND LOST MOUNT

It is the second oldest national park in Spain, from 1918), only behind the Picos de Europa and also a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site . But all this does not define the beauty of this place. The Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, nestled in the central Pyrenees of Huesca, is surrounded by four impressive glacial valleys and overlooks three valleys formed by the Ara, Arazas and Bellós rivers. In summer it is a good time to go hiking with less risk due to its 19 marked routes, which lead to magical places such as the Cola de Caballo waterfall , the Llanos de la Larri, the Añisclo canyon or the Escuaín gorge.Monte Perdido, with its 3,355 meters high, is the highest limestone rock mountain on the continent. The main access point is the town of Torla, at 1,033 meters high, under the watchful eye of the Mondarruego massif and a defensive tower.

One of the most spectacular routes is that of the Cascades that leads to the Arripas, Estrecho and La Cueva waterfalls and lasts about 4 hours round trip. La Pradera de Ordesa is one of the routes preferred by hikers who prefer a pleasant walk through forests of fir, beech and pine. The Cinca Waterfall and Lalarri Waterfalls Route: very simple, about 7 kilometers long and with little unevenness, it explores the Pineta Valley where, in the first and last hours of the day, you may be able to spot chamois, roe deer, wild boar , wildcats, otters, genets, dormouses, marmots and even brown bears, of which it is believed that there are around thirty specimens in the park. Also birds such as grouse, bearded vulture, nightjar, black woodpecker, tawny owl and scops owls.

PANTICOSA SPA

It is another of the favorite places for mountaineers and hikers who come to this area and both the Spa, which has a popular refuge, as well as the small hotels and inns in the town or the nearby Sallent de Gállego are a lively starting point to discover its trails and the ibones, small lakes hidden in the heights. It is also full of bars and restaurants where you can try local food, such as grilled meats, at a very good price.

In the Spa proper, which is a few kilometers from town, up the road, there are two hotels that were renovated by the architect Rafael Moneo and his daughter Belén and her husband Jeff Brock. The Gran Hotel, from 1896, and the Continental Hotel, made of cedar wood and large windows , which houses the thermal spa with different treatments and a spectacular round hot pool open to the starry sky at night.

The Tena Valley offers hundreds of appetizing plans, including gastronomic ones, such as escaping to eat the famous Tramacastilla crumbs at Casa Blasco, with egg, tomato or grapes, or the delicacies of Tasca Berchiles . Walk the path that connects Formigal with Sallent de Gállego, visit the reborn town of the waters of Lanuza , which flooded the reservoir and now its inhabitants have rebuilt little by little, where the South Pyrenees Festival is celebrated on a magical floating stage and that unfortunately this year it is suspended due to the pandemic. And all this in summer. Imagine what it will be like in autumn, when the forests begin to change their color.

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