Southern Aragon

ACROSS THE SIERRA DE GÚDAR

This 9-day trip takes us to the southern most part of Aragon and one of Spain’s most remote and sparsely populated regions. It also happens to be one of the country’s most strikingly beautiful and wild areas, replete with pristine forests, extensive pastures, lush meadows (during the right time of the year) and crystalline streams and springs. The magnificent mountainous landscape of the Sierra de Gúdar (part of the larger Iberian System of mountain ranges) features a variety of different geological formations, such as limestone crags and buttes, deep gorges and ravines, and a large number of vast and impressively flat plateaus, whose vertical sides resemble the walls of immense palaces and/or imposing castles.

Just over one hundred years ago, this now impoverished (yet historically rich) region had four times the number of inhabitants it does today. Defeated in their attempts to make a living from agriculture, many of them left to seek their fortunes in the cities, leaving behind the crumbling remains of the once grand, honey-hued farmhouses that dot the landscape, as well as stone-walled terraces etched into the steep-sided hills and mountains and beautifully constructed dry-stone walls that were (and still are in many cases) used for enclosures and boundaries.

This almost entirely continuous route crossing the Sierra de Gúdar strings together many of the region’s most beautiful medieval towns and historic villages, most of which were founded during the Reconquista, the military campaigns that Christian kingdoms waged against the Muslim ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th century until 1492. This means that we repeatedly set off from one lovely village in the morning, only to arrive at another at the end of the day’s walk. In spite of this, the trip has been designed in such a way as to allow us to spend 2 nights in each of the 4 charming hotels where we stay over the course of the 9 days.

All the walking we do is above 1,000m/3,280ft and the highest point we reach is at 2,028m/ 6,653ft. Throughout the entire trip we are more likely to come across griffon vultures and Spanish Ibex, than we are to see other walkers. The terrain is very varied and also generally very good and includes: gravel country roads, forest and farm tracks, historic drovers’ roads and ancient commercial routes, forest paths, pilgrim paths, historic mule tracks, valley floors, open pastures and ridges.

For a detailed itinerary and/or further information, please contact us at [email protected]

The fitness level for all trips is classified according to the average distance and elevation gain of the walks offered, with fitness levels ranging from 1-5, see here for more details.