Family activities in the Tena Valley

Mountain trains, walkways, small stone villages, hikes on foot or on horseback, mountain lakes and natural pools to escape the heat are some of the options this area of the Aragonese Pyrenees offers in summer.

We are in Panticosa, at 1,180 metres above sea level. A small mountain village that in summer season is a wonderful destination and base camp for family tourism through the Tena Valley, one of the largest and most populated in the Pyrenees. But in this area it's not just children who have fun — there are activities suited to all ages.

The Sarrio train and the Artouste train

From the main square of Panticosa, where every Monday there is a market selling cheeses, cured meats and mountain clothing, three times a day the Sarrio train departs. This high-mountain train climbs up the slope — along a track only it can use — until reaching the La Ripera valley, from where several trails set off. A good option if travelling as a family is the six-kilometre trail that gently descends alongside the Ripera river (at the start) and the Bolática (further along), back to the village. The path ends at the Caldarés river, at a stretch where pools form and where you can take a dip; there's no better way to finish a hike. Looking up from the pool, you can see the cable car that carries skiers up in winter and that in the summer months takes hikers to the start of the route to the Sabocos and Asnos mountain lakes.

We cross the nearby border into France to take a very different train: the Artouste train, in the heart of the Ossau valley. To get there you first have to take the cable car, which drops you off at 1,950 metres, from where you have an incredible view of the valley itself and Lake Fabrèges. From this point the little train departs, and skirting the mountain with a spectacular view over the Soussouéou valley, it covers 10 kilometres until reaching the path that leads in about 20 minutes to the glacial lake of the same name — this train boasts being the highest in Europe on narrow-gauge tracks.

The Panticosa Walkways

The Panticosa Walkways (Pasarelas de Panticosa) are suitable for children from age 7 and under 130 centimetres tall. They are located on the outskirts of the Huesca village, 500 metres from the car park, where signage already points the way to the start of the path. On a short route of less than a kilometre and around 160 metres of elevation change (it takes about an hour), you get a bird's-eye view of the gorge and the small waterfalls formed by the Caldarés river. At the end of the walkways, you can either head straight back to the village on a 30-minute walk, or climb past a couple of bunkers to the O Calvé viewpoint, with a wonderful panorama at sunset over the village and surrounding mountains.

Tiberio Thermal Baths

Just six kilometres from Panticosa is the Panticosa Spa, home to the modern Tiberio Thermal Baths (Termas de Tiberio), fed by one of the six springs found in the area — the Tiberio spring, which emerges at 54 degrees. This spa, already known in Roman times, had its first building in 1694 and kept its appearance until a full renovation was carried out in 2000.

It's a shame to see the old buildings of the different springs in ruins, and it's true that the modern buildings don't blend very well with the landscape, but the interior, it must be said, is a marvel — the highlight is the outdoor pool at 34 degrees with mountain views, complete with a bubble bed and neck jets. Inside, among other spaces, there is another pool with a large window to the sky (known as the tranquillity pool), the colour-therapy pool, and a hammam. There is a children's timetable with three daily sessions (children can enter from age 3).

And while we're here, we can take the opportunity to do the trail that, starting from the Casa de Piedra refuge and passing the Cascada del Pino waterfall, reaches the Bachimaña Alto refuge and reservoir in under four kilometres. Other options include strolling by the Ibón de los Baños lake or climbing to the nearby La Laguna spring, where another of the area's springs emerges at 22 degrees.

Gorgol Pools

From the abandoned village of Saqués, leaving the car on the other side of the road, at kilometre 9 of the A-136, a path lost among the undergrowth and marked with a small yellow sign climbs up. We enter the Betato forest, a lush forest of box trees, beeches, oaks and hazels that climbs gently for just over a kilometre until reaching a track that leads, a few metres further on, to the bridge over the Lana Mayor ravine. There are several pools on both sides of the bridge where you can bathe if you dare brave the water temperature. Right here you can also try canyoning for the first time, on a simple descent lasting about three hours, for those over 10 years old, which can be booked through one of the many adventure activity agencies in the area.

After a day of leisure and adventure, we make our way back on a loop, visiting the village of Tramacastilla de Tena and entering the Betato forest again, where along the trail we come across the horses of the Centro Ecuestre El Betato (El Betato Equestrian Centre). This riding centre, located in the middle of the forest, with a ring offering wonderful views of the Bubal reservoir and Peña Telera, has five hectares available for its horses. It offers routes of varying length through the beech forest, reaching as far as the nearby Ibón de Piedrafita lake on the four-hour excursions. For children under 8, it offers 30-minute activities for a first encounter with these animals.

Canoeing on the Lanuza reservoir

Although canoe rental is the most popular activity at the Suscalar jetty, located on the eastern shore of the Lanuza reservoir — canoes range from single-seaters to four-person boats — you can also rent pedal boats, sailing boats or windsurfing gear. With Sallent de Gállego and the Peña Foratata peak at one end of the reservoir and, at the other, the vanished village of Lanuza, the reservoir creates a beautiful scene from every angle. There are also green areas nearby where you can relax or take a swim, and the jetty itself has a restaurant with a terrace.

Stone villages

The Tena Valley has countless charming villages to stroll through; both Sallent de Gállego and Panticosa offer free guided tours once a week to learn a little about the history of the villages and the area. Both have a shop selling the delicious Helados Panticosa ice creams, where Maripi, from Zaragoza, has been making ice cream for 13 years. Among the must-see villages are, for example, Hoz de Jaca and Piedrafita de Jaca, much smaller and quieter than the two mentioned above. The latter has a hostel with a garden where you can eat or have a drink, with a playground for the little ones.

Three excursions

• The hike to the Ibón de Piedrafita lake is one of the best known in the area, both for its beauty, as it runs through forest and streams where you can dip your feet, and for its simplicity, since it has little elevation change and isn't very long. You can leave the car in the village of Tramacastilla de Tena or shorten the route by driving up to the La Cuniacha car park. If you still have energy once you reach the lake, you can continue the walk to the O Campanal arch, this time with a fairly steep final stretch, and complete the loop route.
  
  

• Another easy excursion in the valley is the climb to the Pacino pass. The path starts at the exit of Sallent de Gállego, leaving from the car park of the same name on the A-136 road. It begins on a track, crosses an area of pastures and forest until reaching the Pacino pass. From here you can climb to the Pacino peak in under half an hour and reach the best viewpoint in the Tena Valley, with a 360-degree panorama over all the peaks in every direction. To return, you can take the loop path, leaving the Escarra reservoir on your left and heading into the Selva de Sallent forest until the start of the trail.
  
  
• The last route we'll recommend starts at the La Sarra reservoir and ends at the refuge and Ibón de Respomuso lake. It's a long climb enlivened by streams and waterfalls along the entire way, many stretches of forest and scrubland, and raspberries and strawberries along the edge of the path. At the lakeside refuge you can eat and sleep, ready to tackle the next day one of the many routes that set off from this very spot.

---
Source: Article published in El País on 23 August 2024
Author: Cristina Candel
Photography: Cristina Candel