Aragon Guide

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  Old Aragon Kingdom Route

Embalse de Yesa (Hecho, Anso, Selva de Oza), Puente La Reina de Jaca (San Juan de la Pena, Santa Cruz de la Seros, Canfranc, Astun), Sabinanigo, Biescas (Panticosa, Sallent, Formigal, El Portalet), Broto (National Park of Ordesa and Monte Perdido), Ainsa (San Vitorian, Pineta, Bielsa), Castejon de Sos (Benasque, Cerler).
 

Area: Aragon Pyrenees. Valleys privileged by nature the Huescans hold dear: Anso Valley, where the last Pyrenees bears live. Hecho Valley with the Selva de Oza, a dense forest of beech and fir trees and the glacial Valley of Tena, surrounded by peaks over 3.000 meters high with a National Hunting Reserve and the Biosphere Reserve declared by the UNESCO.

The National Park of Ordesa y Monte Perdido (3.355m) is a jewel of nature with exceptional fauna and spectacular scenery. A large parking lot and collective transportation for visitors help to guarantee its preservation. In the National Hunting Reserve of Posets (3.377m) and Maladeta (3.308m) with Aneto peak (3.404m), we find the highest peaks in the Pyrenees and the southernmost permanent glaciers in Europe.

On the way to the tourist village of Benasque, we come across the mountain massif of El Turbon amidst spectacular gorges. The Aragon Pyrenees is a Romanesque area called jaques (from Jaca), which begins at the Cathedral of Jaca (11th century) with the Diocesan Museum (open 11a.m. to 2p.m and 4p.m. to 6:30p.m. except Mondays). Jaca is a crossroads and a pearl among the Pyrenees; a European and cosmopolitan town along the pilgrimage route to Santiago. From Jaca, there are three monasteries that should be visited: the Convent of Santa Cruz de Seros (10th century), San Pedro de Siresa of Carolingian origin, and San Juan de la Pena, pantheon of Kings and associated with the legend of the Holy Grail. While in Jaca, you must visit the Ciudadela (citadel), a good example of military architecture from the 16th century, where the only statue of Philip II in Aragon is found.

Here the festivals are continuous. Carnavales in Bielsa are a popular gathering. Numerous romerias (pilgrimages) to local hermitages are celebrated everywhere. At the end of June, the festival of Santa Orosia with the dancers from Yebra de Basa.

The festivals of the Pyrenees with examples of international folklore are held at the end of July during odd numbered years. The last Sunday of August, the streets become a living museum of traditional customes in Anso. In September, there are popular portrayals of Moors and Christians in Ainsa and La Mojiganga of Graus.

This land is a paradise of winter and mountain sports, hunting and fishing. Parapente and hang-gliding in Castejon de Sos, ultralights in Ainsa, golf in Eriste and skiing in all the Aragon Pyrenees ski resorts. Food savored throughout the region includes: pollo al chilindron (chicken cooked with peppers) and huevos al salmorejo (potted eggs); only few examples of the rich Aragon Pyrenees cuisine. For dessert, try some condes and jaquesas, delicious sweets from Jaca.