Home › Long-distance routes › Ordesa Valley › 1 day · there and back from the Pradera
One dayOn footManu Sánchez — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Pradera de Ordesa
The classic route of the Aragonese Pyrenees. You climb the Arazas valley between centuries-old beech woods, past a succession of waterfalls, into the glacial cirque of Soaso, where the Cola de Caballo waits at 1,800 metres. Almost nineteen kilometres, but on a wide path with little climbing: the difficulty is the distance, not the terrain. And since it is out and back, you can turn round at any point, which makes it suitable with children from seven or eight years old. Important notes. The valley has a limit of 1,800 people at any one time: once that number is reached the bus service is suspended, and holding a ticket does not entitle you to travel if that happens, so in August it pays to arrive early. In the restricted season you go up by bus from Torla, with departures every 15 to 20 minutes and a journey of about twenty minutes; out of season you can drive up to the Pradera. Dogs must be kept on a lead at all times and, on the bus, travel in the hold inside a carrier, with a fee and limited places. There are no bins on the paths, deliberately: everything you bring in leaves with you. Do not trust the stream water, which may be contaminated by livestock: carry what you will need. Inside the Park it is forbidden to light fires, to collect plants, animals, minerals or rocks, and to cycle on restricted paths. Check current timetables and conditions before setting out.
Out and back from the Pradera de Ordesa along the Soaso path to the Cola de Caballo waterfall, climbing the valley between beech woods and waterfalls.
StartEigernordwand — CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Practical / Access
The starting point of almost every route in the valley, at around 1,300 metres. In the restricted season you arrive by bus from Torla; out of season you can drive up, though spaces are limited.
Set off before 8:30: you will walk in peace, find parking in Torla and see the Gradas de Soaso without crowds. Check the bus timetable at ordesabus.com before you go.
Diego Lavin Marin — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Nature / Beech forest
A centuries-old beech wood that gives shade and coolness on hot days and carpets the ground with dry leaves in autumn. One of the most peaceful stretches of the valley.
In autumn this wood justifies the trip on its own. And in summer it is the only reliable shade over much of the route.
Manuel Velazquez — CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Nature / Waterfall
Considered by many visitors the most beautiful waterfall in Ordesa. A short path drops to a viewpoint at its base, from where you can watch the fall safely.
Don't skip the detour to the viewpoint: it takes a few minutes and you see it head-on, which is how it should be seen.
rheins — CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Nature / Stepped waterfalls
A stretch formed by numerous waterfalls following one another in steps, like a staircase of water descending from the Soaso cirque. It is the most varied and photogenic part of the whole valley.
With small children this is the perfect goal: about eleven kilometres there and back from the Pradera, and you will already have seen the finest waterfalls. Pushchairs are not viable; you need a baby carrier.
rheins — CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Nature / Glacial cirque
Once the Gradas end the trees disappear and you enter the Soaso cirque, a U-shaped glacial valley ringed by vertical walls and peaks above three thousand metres. The scale of the place imposes itself: you feel tiny.
The stretch through the cirque is flat, a relief for the legs after the climb. Far ahead you will start to make out a vertical white streak: that is your destination.
Natalia Mostova — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Nature / Waterfall
The destination, at 1,800 metres. The water slides down a wall of polished rock and spreads into a white fan that recalls a horse's tail: hence the name.
From here some carry on up towards the Góriz refuge intending to climb Monte Perdido, but that is another route entirely. The walk back to the Pradera takes about two and a half hours.
Every stage is in the app, with its map and elevation profile, the points of interest with their tip, and the option to save them for when there is no signal.
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