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Maps
What
to Bring
WARNING
Places
to Stay & Eat
Getting
To/From the Walk
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Duration
1½
or 2 days
Distance
13
or 36km
Standard
Medium
or hard
Start
Hospital
de Vielha
Finish
La
Besurta or Benasque
Public
Transport Yes
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Side
Trip: Refugio de la Renclusa
1 to 1½ hours, 3km
From
La Besurta, the Refugio de la Renclusa is an undemanding
walk up the eastern flank of the Barranco de la Renclusa.
Just beyond it is another impressive forau, next to which
a small chapel has been built. The Refugio de la Renclusa
(Tel: 974 55 14 90), with capacity for 110, is staffed from
early June to the end of September and keeps a wing open
year-round. It does meals, drinks and snacks. It's a very
popular base camp for climbers and for those planning an
ascent of the Pico de Aneto. As it's also near to vehicle
access, where whole coachloads of walkers are decanted,
advance booking is essential.
If
heading to the refugio from the Plan de Aiguallut, you can
avoid the descent to La Besurta (then having to regain height
along the Barranco de la Renclusa). Instead, take a faint
trail leading initially westwards from near the green metal
ICONA shelter. The first part of the ascent to the Coll
de la Renclusa (2270m) is steep. Navigation is not always
easy but the trail is well cairned in the latter stages.
Allow an hour or a little more from the Plan de Aiguallut.
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Side
Trip: Collado del Toro
30 to 40 minutes, 1km
Leave
your backpack behind a boulder in the meadows below the
Collado del Toro and take an easy side trail to this minor
pass (2235m). Just beyond it, back in Catalunya, is the
pretty Estany del Collado de Toro, shaped like a figure
of eight. If you want to continue for a further 20 minutes,
you can skirt the lake along its north-west shore, following
cairns but no path to a possible camp site
overlooking the Vall d'Aran watershed.
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The
Walk (see
map
6,
map
7, map
8)
Days 11A & 12A: Hospital de Vielha to La Besurta via the Coll
de Mulleres
8½ to 10½ hours, 13km
If
you're in good shape, it's possible to reach La Besurta and the
shuttle bus service to the Hospital de Benasque in one long day
from the Hospital de Vielha. It is better, however, to camp en
route and take this tough walk at a less demanding pace.
This
is the most challenging but also one of the most satisfying stages
of the whole traverse. Over the course of two days the trails
rises and falls a total of 2400m and includes 1300m of ascent.
But the rewards match the considerable effort invested, and while
it would be unwise to attempt the pass alone, this is nothing
to shy away from. We rate this route as hard because of the difficulty
in following the trail during the last 45 minutes to the Coll
de Mulleres and because the last 10m to the col are steep enough
to require a four-limbed clamber.
The
route as far as the Estanyets de Mulleres is uncomplicated and
well marked. From the Hospital de Vielha (1630m) pick your way
over the rubble above the mouth of the road tunnel to join a clear
cart track, which you leave after about 15 minutes to take a path
to the left through a beech wood beside the stream's true left
bank. Fifteen minutes later, pass the magnificent Cascada de
Mulleres waterfall; soon afterwards there's a small, grassy
flood plain which makes an ideal camp site.
About
two hours from the starting point the path clambers up the wall
of a cirque. An hour later a fading arrow on a granite boulder
above the first lake passed indicates the turn-off to the Refugio
de Mulleres (2360m) - a bright orange, 12 person, unstaffed
refugio, only five minutes away. The patch of grass just beside
the refugio and the shores of the first two of the four tarns
you encounter are all possible camp sites - the
last until you're well over the col.
From
the turn-off to the refugio it's two to 2½ hours to the Coll de
Mulleres (2928m), the highest pass on the Pyrenean Traverse. The
path is entirely over rock and loose scree, with some snow cover.
Beyond the lakes, the track becomes more spindly and you're more
reliant upon cairns and the occasional very discreet vermilion
trail marker.
The
Coll de Mulleres isn't easy to distinguish against the
skyline. Just below the serrated rocks which mark the pass, however,
lock into the tracks made other walkers and head west across a
narrow snowfield. The last 10m are a true climb - especially hard
if you're lugging a backpack.
The
quite stupendous views of the Pico de Aneto and the Glaciar de
la Maladeta to the west, the upper slopes of the Valleta de la
Escaleta before you and the peaks on the border parting Aragón
from Catalunya to your right justify every bead of sweat expended.
If you still have energy you can leave your backpack on the ridge
and make a 30 minute return trip detour south to bag the Pic (Tuc)
de Mulleres at 3010m.
Many
walkers make a short crest traverse north towards Coll Alfred,
from where they make their way down to the highest tarn of the
Valleta de la Escaleta. Alternatively, you can just head straight
down the snow-covered Glaciar de Mulleres to the tarn,
35 to 45 minutes away. There's just enough flat space here for
a camp site, but camping options increase in quantity
and quality as you descend the Valleta de la Escaleta.
Skirt
around the lake to its right. Once the glacier and snow give out,
stride for a time over huge, smooth slabs of mottled granite.
Shortly
before drawing level with the evident Collado dels Aranesos (2455m),
which leads back into Catalunya, pass a small tarn on its left
(west) side - not as Editorial Alpina indicates - then switch
to the true right bank of the stream flowing from it. Beyond the
tarn, the gradient becomes gentler and there's even a hint of
path again.
After
passing over a rocky bluff above the west bank of a larger tarn
(again contradicting the Editorial Alpina map), you emerge into
meadows just below the Collado del Toro. Interlaced with streams,
this spot makes for paradise camping. In a little
less than an hour of easy walking (look for caves in the hillside,
rated highly by speleologists), you emerge into the wide Plan
de Aiguallut. Here, where the alternative route via the Coll
de Salenques (see option B) rejoins the trail, the stream from
the Valleta de la Escaleta and the Río de los Barrancos
merge to meander across the plain.
A green,
metal ICONA shelter - even the huts are green around here - with
space for eight perches above the downstream end of the meadow.
Just below is the Cascada de Aiguallut down which the river hurtles
before disappearing into the cave called the Forau de Aiguallut
(where ‘forau’ in the local dialect means cave or pothole).
At
La Besurta, about 30 minutes walk from the Plan de Aiguallut,
there's a kiosko, a small stall serving beer and
soft drinks, bocadillos (400 ptas to 500 ptas) and platos combinados
(850 ptas) - a gastronomic delight after a few days on the trail.
It's
possible to walk on from here to Benasque via the Hospital de
Benasque, for the most part off-road. Most walkers, however, prefer
to take the shuttle bus down the hill (for transport details,
see Getting to/from the Walk in the introduction to this walk).
The
Forau de Aiguallut
The Forau is a cauldron into which swirl all the waters flowing
from the surrounding mountains – from the Glaciar de Mulleres
to the Maladeta massif. Once underground, the run-off forms a
subterranean river on a bed of limestone. It loses some 600m in
height over only 4km before re-emerging at Artiga de Lin in the
Vall d’Aran. From here the river joins the Riu Garona, called
La Garonne once it crosses the French border, and flows out into
the Atlantic Ocean near Bordeaux.
Parque
Posets-Maladeta
The
park was declared a protected area in 1994. It covers 33,267 hectares
and encompasses the two highest massifs in the Pyrenees and 13
of the range’s major glaciers. Nearly all the park lies above
1800m, including the Pico de Aneto (3404m), the highest mountain
in the Pyrenees.
It
owes its shape, like so many other areas of the chain, to the
Ice Ages which created the characteristic U-shaped valleys, giant
cirques at their head, hanging valleys high on their flanks and
scooped depressions, today filled by over 100 ibóns,
or mountain tarns.
Two
consequences of the region’s upgrade to park status are that vehicle
access is now restricted and wild camping is not allowed. Having
said this, you may still encounter walkers who discreetly pitch
their tents at dusk and pack up their camp site in the early morning.
Days
11B & 12B: Hospital de Vielha to La Besurta via the Coll de
Salenques
10 to 12 hours, 18km
Navigation
on this alternative route is not difficult. Rather, it merits
its medium-hard grade for the sheer grind of traversing extensive
fields of rocks and boulders on both sides of the Coll de Salenques.
For the first 6.5km the walk follows the GR11 route.
From
the Hospital de Vielha, follow the main N230 road south for 200m
before taking a left turn onto a path and descending for 25 minutes
through fir trees to a dilapidated ICONA shelter. About 15 minutes
later, veer briefly east to negotiate the Barranco de Besiberri.
Crossing to the true right bank of the Noguera Ribagorçana,
pass a run-down forest rest house overlooking the Embalse de Basserca
(Senet). Here, where the path briefly joins the main road, a GR11
sign points down the road to your destination, ‘Vall de Salenques’.
Cross a metal footbridge where the Río de Salenques enters
the huge dam.
On
the other side of the footbridge, turn onto a trail along the
true right bank of the river. The path steadily worsens until,
45 minutes from the bridge, it widens slightly into a flattish
patch of terrain at the confluence of the Barranc de Salenques
and the river flowing down the Valle de Anglos. Leave the GR11
route which continues up the Valle de Anglos and cross the Barranc
de Salenques to mount a steep path along its true left bank.
At
this point, you may need to hunt for the sporadically cairned
trail through a nasty mixture of boulders and undergrowth. The
going's rough and involves some treacherous boulder hopping. Finally,
more than three hours above the river ford, the trail reaches
the brow of a hill and several high meadows with good camp
sites. If you want to push on, there are a few more potential
camp sites nearer to the Coll de Salenques.
Continue
along the river, now on a manageable gradient and surface, for
two hours until the valley narrows and you reach the base of a
grassy slope beyond a waterfall. Count on another 90 minutes to
two hours from here to the Coll de Salenques (2810m), depending
on the amount of snow cover. Up top, there's a small shelter -
nothing more than a low wall of stones.
Descend
from the col over virtually permanent snowfields, then climb slightly
to the Colladeta de Barrancs (2480m). Pick up the cairns
again as you descend, well above the west shore of the Lago de
los Barrancos, to the edge of a basin filled with glacial debris.
It's also possible to camp north of the Lago de
los Barrancos, though unless the light's failing or you're exhausted
you'll probably prefer to push on to the five star turf of the
Plan de Aiguallut. Don't rely on the Editorial Alpina map at this
stage as it places much of the 45 minute drop to the Río
de los Barrancos too far to the west.
Using
the cairns as a guide, descend from the basin to the river. Cross
it and follow the steadily improving path on the east (true right)
bank for a final 45 minutes down to the Plan de Aiguallut.
To continue from here to La Besurta, see the last part of the
option A walk description.
Days
11C & 12C: Hospital de Vielha to Benasque via the Collada
de Ballibierna
12 to 13 hours, 36km
The
route follows for the most part the GR11 which, unlike the other
two variants, passes to the south of the Maladeta massif. With
its familiar red-and-white trail markers, it's the simplest and
least demanding route to follow.
Leaving
Hospital de Vielha, follow the Day 11B route until it crosses
the river to head away north-west up the Barranc de Salenques.
Instead, continue west up the Vall d'Anglos.
The
overgrown path ascends steeply to the first of the three Estanys
d'Anglíos lakes, contouring around it to the south. Just
after the small refugio (with room for four) at
the south-west corner of the lake, the main GR11 route bears away
south-west. A better option, however, is to sneak between the
second and third tarns, then up a grassy bank to follow the small
Riu Güeno upstream. After about 1½ hours and an altitude
gain of 300m, cross the Colladeta de Riu Güeno (2325m). Wind
your way around the western shore of the Ibón Cap de
Llauset where ‘ibón' in Aragonese means lake) and follow
the true right bank of its outflow stream to rejoin the main GR11
route.
From
the junction, it's a further 300m of ascent over granite boulders
to the Collada de Ballibierna (Vallibierna or even Vallhiverna
- Editorial Alpina manages all three!), with the possibility of
snowfields on either side of the pass. Drop westwards to the grassy
south-east shore of the upper of the two Ibons de Ballibierna.
Continue up and over a steep rise, then down a series of giant
natural steps to the north shore of the lower lake, reached one
to 1¼ hours after leaving the col.
Follow
the stream which emerges from the lake down to the meadows of
Pleta de Llosás (2200m) - a pleasant place to rest
or camp overnight. Thirty minutes later you reach
the Puente de Coronas bridge over a tributary of the Barranco
de Ballibierna coming in from the north. Near here (and about
8 hours walking from the Hospital de Vielha) is a fisherfolk's
refugio with room for 14. The area around the hut has some inviting
camp sites.
From
this point, it's an easy stroll down the forested path along the
true right bank of the Barranco de Ballibierna. The path heads
north to the municipal camping ground at Plan de
Senarta and then swings back to follow the east shore of the Embalse
de Paso Nuevo reservoir. It finally joins the main road beside
the Puente de San Jaime bridge, 3.75km north of Benasque. Turn
left and continue along the sealed road down to Benasque, mercifully
less than an hour away.
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Days 11–12
Web Site
