Route: Faja Racon in the Ordesa Valley
Area: Spanish Pyrenees
Date of walk: 24th June 2016
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 7.0 miles
Ascent: 1,900 feet
Weather: Sunny and very hot
Having visited this spectacular area earlier in the week we were keen to revisit the park, which has numerous walking routes. We’d chosen a walk known as Faja Racon and after leaving our hired car at the Pradera car park we walked back along the road towards Torla for a short distance until we reached the start of the path uphill, next to a small building in a clearing
We were confronted here by a sign which read ‘Because of a snowfall it is VERY DANGEROUS and it is advised not to follow this path’. Gulp. We had no Plan B but decided to carry on regardless, having discussed the route with Phil of Hiking Pyrenees the night before. He advised us that following this week’s heatwave most of the snow would have melted by now. We trusted this advice, and could always turn back if the route became dangerous, so started the long but easy climb through the woods until we reached the foot of the impressive cliffs
There then followed one of the most spectacular walks we’ve ever undertaken – a narrow path took us below the huge cliff face with staggering views every step of the way. I must confess that the disconcerting sign at the start of the walk had unnerved me a little and each time we rounded a corner I wondered what horrors we were going to face
We eventually came to a section of snow which was easy to overcome and not at all dangerous, though it would have been a few days ago, and a little later on there was a short slightly exposed section. Apart from that, my worries were groundless. Gilly had no such reservations and skipped along the path humming tunes from The Sound of Music
After about an hour on the faja the awesome Circo de Cotatuero and its huge waterfall came into view – a real ‘wow’ moment. We then started descending, very steeply at first, through the woodland until the path joined a wide track back to the start
It had been an unforgettable walk
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