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About
the area
Planning
this walk
Places
to stay & eat on this walk
Getting
to & from this walk
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Duration
3
days
Distance
23.5km
Standard
Medium
Start
Refugi
de Colomers
Finish
Hospital
de Vielha
Public
Transport Finish
only
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El
Túnel de Vielha
It
took 22 years to complete the strategic road tunnel linking
the Vall d’Aran with the rest of Spain. Until it opened,
winter snows blocked all access to the pass from September
to June, and the only way in or out was to head northwards
into France.
The Vall d’Aran had been politically affiliated with Spain
since the 14th century. The decision to begin
construction of the tunnel in 1926 was an attempt to reinforce
the valley’s economic and cultural links with Spain and
diminish the French influence. Plagued by accidents and
financial difficulties, the boring proceeded in fits and
starts. With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, work
stopped completely. It resumed in 1941, with Republican
prisoners used as forced labour. If you look around and
above the tunnel entrance, you can still see traces of the
bunkers used to protect the project from raids by Republican
guerillas still at large.
It was finally opened in 1948 and at 5.3km it’s the longest
road tunnel in the Pyrenees.
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El
Hospital
You
don’t have to be sick to spend the night in a hospital.
Built at the base of important passes, their history goes
back to medieval times, recalling the original meaning of
the word: a place where hospitality is offered, a haven
for rest and refuge. Often established and maintained by
charitable foundations such as the Knights Templar, the
Knights of St John of Jerusalem and the Orden (Order) de
los Hospitalarios, they offered modest, safe lodging to
foot travellers at a time when walking was more hazardous
than it is today.
Some still serve as refugios for walkers. Two of them are
overnight stops on the Pyrenean Traverse. The Hospital de
Vielha was founded in 1192 at the base of an old camino
which crosses over the Coll de Toro into the Vall d’Aran.
The Hospital de Benasque sits beside a camino leading to
the Portillón de Benasque, once a popular smugglers’
route into France.
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The
Walk (see
map
8)
Day 8: Refugi de Colomers to Refugi Ventosa i Calvell via Port
de Colomers
3¾
to 4¼ hours, 8km
Set
out westward from the refugio following the GR11's red-and-white
trail markers upstream along La Gargantera brook. After about
seven minutes an aluminium pole marks a major junction where the
GR11 trail divides into two branches. Disregard them both and
instead bear left (south-west) to follow the red-and-yellow trail
markers of a Sendero de Pequeño Recorrido (abbreviated
to PR), one of a series of locally administered day walks – in
this case devised and maintained by Josep Baques i Sole, warden
at the Refugi de Colomers.
Cross the outlet
of Estany Mort, (literally meaning `dead pool'), seething with
frogs despite its name. Where the red-and-yellow trail markers
diverge, follow the red towards a multicoloured pole and continue
southwards up the true right bank of a stream flowing from lake
to lake. The path improves and cairns increase in number as you
pass to the east of the Estany de Cabirdonats about an hour later.
The number of tarns, some no bigger than puddles, multiply as
you push on further into the grey moraine area at the base of
the Circ de Colomers.
The trail becomes
less evident as you skirt the first of a group of tarns scattered
across the cirque and known collectively as the Estanyets del
Port. The red markers trail away eastward, the cairns give out
– or rather the base of the bowl is covered in natural cairns
– and the path becomes increasingly difficult to discern as you
continue heading straight.
At the unnamed
lake shaped like a pulled tooth, bear south-west towards the Port
de Colomers (2591m), distinctive against the skyline, which
retains a white bib of snow until well into July. Keep heading
resolutely up and south-west to reach the col 2¼ to 2½ hours into
the day.
Once over the
col, and after a little less than 15 minutes of steepish descent,
the path crosses to and then veers away from the true left bank
of a small stream. Descending by a well cairned trail, bypass
the marshy flats of Tallada Llarga to reach the first of the Estanyets
de Colieto.
The next stage
of descent, hopping from lake to tarn down to the Refugi Ventosa
i Calvell, is a highlight of the day's walk. Just before the brief
ascent to the refugio, about 1½ to 1¾ hours from the pass, is
a stretch of unavoidable boulder scrambling along the north shore
of the tiny La Bassa tarn.
At 2222m, the
Refugi
Ventosa i Calvell (Tel: 973 29 70 90) has
sleeping space for 80, pay showers and serves meals. It is in
refugio terms a four star option. This said, it can be crowded.
The one-time water company refugio, perched 200m west, is now
quite uninhabitable – nothing more than an ugly scar on the hillside.
Day
9: Refugi Ventosa i Calvell to Refugi de la Restanca
2½
to 3¼ hours, 6km
This
is a brief stage, allowing time for one of two strongly recommended
side trips: the ascent of Montardo d'Aran or a visit to the magnificent
Estany de Mar.
First make your
way north past the lakes Xic, Travessani – where the path leaves
the shore to climb above a large slab of granite on its south
side – Clot, les Mangades and les Monges. The route, accurately
marked on the Editorial Alpina map, is cairned.
Some 35 to 45
minutes into the day, after passing Estany Clot, look out for
a junction where the more lightly trodden trail to Refugi de la
Restanca continues due north, splitting from the main trail which
bears away north-east to the Port de Caldes. Follow the former
to the refugio to the north.
As you approach
the lip of Estany de les Mangades, cross the stream which drains
from the lake (ignoring a red-striped pole) and head north-west
towards the Port
de Güellicrestada (2475) which must have
one of the gentlest approaches to a pass in all the Catalan mountains.
At the pass,
1½ to 1¾ hours from the starting point, again pick up the red-and-white
markers of the GR11. There's a sharp, 30 minute drop down a stony
trail to the Estany deth Cap deth Port, passing a massive boulder
field along the way. Once around the lake, follow the path beside
the sluice. This drops very steeply to the Estany de la Restanca
(2010m). The smart new Refugi
de la Restanca (Tel: 908 03 65 59) is at
the near end of the dam, its older, raddled sister falling to
pieces on the far side. Allow 1¼ to 1½ hours from pass to lake.
The wardens,
Albert and Esther Betrán, who have been looking after walkers
for more than 20 years, are very pleasant. With 80 places, the
refugio does meals, snacks and drinks and accepts Visa.
The rocky area
around the dam isn't conducive to camping, but it's possible to
find a couple of handkerchiefs' worth of flat, stone-free ground
for a camp site.
If you continue
a further 45 minutes along the Day 10 route (described later in
this walk) there's a delightful meadow ideal for camping where
the track from the refugio meets the Camino deth Pont de Rius.
Alternative
Camp Sites
In the Vall
d'Aran the only commercial camping ground is in
Arties (see the side trip from Refugi de la Restanca to Arties
on the following page).
Day
10: Refugi de la Restanca or Pont de Rius to Hospital de Vielha
4
to 4½ hours, 9.5km
This
is a day for striding out. From the Refugi de la Restanca, the
route ascends 400m to the Port de Rius. It involves a 600m climb
if you begin at Pont de Rius in the Riu de Valarties valley. But
the path is clear and the climb is on the whole fairly gradual.
If you've left
the mountains to visit Arties and Naut Aran, rejoin the Pyrenean
Traverse at Pont de Rius. Here, where the woodland trail which
climbs to the Refugi de la Restanca takes off left, go straight
ahead in defiance of a GR `X' sign (no entry). Cross the river
to pick up a well cairned, though in places overgrown, path running
above the true left bank. You're walking the Camino deth Pont
de Rius (Camino del Pont de Rius) which, until the construction
of the Túnel de Vielha, was a well travelled access route
to the upper Aran valley.
After about
an hour and 250m of vertical ascent, you rejoin the GR11 about
2km west of the Refugi de la Restanca. Just below the junction
of the two trails is a glorious meadow, ideal for a camp
site.
If beginning
the day from the Refugi de la Restanca, you have two choices.
The more scenic alternative is to take in the Estany de Mar and
the equally large Estany de Tort de Rius (see the side trip from
Refugi de la Restanca to Estany de Mar at the end of Day 9 on
this walk) and rejoin the main route at the eastern end of the
Estany de Rius. This will add about two hours to what isn't a
very arduous walking day.
The easier but
less exciting alternative is to stick to the GR11 which crosses
the dam to pass the old refugio and curl away north-westwards.
Once over a hillock, the path drops steeply, parallel to the electricity
pylons leading from the dam into the main valley, and joins the
Camino deth Pont de Rius.
On the way up
the Riu de Valarties valley from the refugio and Pont de Rius
ignore all cobbled paths engineered by the power company, enticing
you to go up and left; each leads to a dead end at various waterworks.
One to 1¼ hours after the junction of the GR11 and the path from
the Riu de Valarties valley, pass a gutted hydroelectric company
shelter and a rubbish-strewn fuente beneath a small tower. Scarcely
10 minutes later, draw level with the outlet of the Estany de
Rius.
From the Estany
de Rius, it's well worth making a brief detour 10 minutes south-east
to visit the much more appealing Estany Tort de Rius. There's
many a tarn and pool ahead but these are the last substantial
lakes you'll see for the next several days of the traverse.
It takes about
40 minutes to circumnavigate all the lake's arms and crannies
and reach the Port de Rius (2315m). From this pass you can clearly
see the road linking Pont de Suert and Vielha and beside it the
large building which houses the University of Barcelona's high
mountain research institute (Institut de Investigació de
Alta Muntanya). For the next 45 minutes or so the trail drops
sharply in switchbacks. As you descend into the Vall de Conangles,
pines yield to beech and birch trees. The final 20 minutes are
an easy stroll down a wide cart track, from which you take a clear
path left to descend to the Hospital de Vielha,
also known as the Refugi Sant Nicolau, poised just
above the southern entrance to the Túnel de Vielha. Modified
over the centuries, its stone architecture is more distinctive
than that of many alpine huts. In view of the difficult days to
follow, you won't regret cosseting yourself for a night.
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Days 8–10
Web Site
