The peak Monte Perdido is the 3rd highest peak in Iberic Peninsula (Spain), with the altitude of 3.355m. It is located in the middle of Ordesa National Park, Pyrenees Mountains, between Spain and France.

I live near the Ordesa National Park and I do a lot of hiking trips around, with my 14 years old daughter. So in Aug 2015 I invited some friends from Barcelona to do together a hiking to Monte Perdido. The hiking is not so difficult but requires some basic requisites:

- Good hiking boots

- 30-40 L backpack, walking stick/s

- Tent, Sleeping bag (camp in the near refugee), headlight

- Warm/rain clothes

- Food, 2L water bottle

- Good condition for 6-8h walking/hiking

- Try to keep your backpack light. Is just 1 night sleep and 2 days full walking

So we start by taking the special bus from Torla to Pradera Ordesa (starting point of Ordesa Valley).

In 20-30 min we arrive in the parking of Pradera Ordesa (1300m) and we start our journey, through a nice path under the trees, with some beautiful waterfalls. The walk is not difficult at all and also we took very few meters in altitude. Here are track details. The path is right on the bottom of Ordesa Valley, the little gran canyon of Europe.

After few hours walking we arrived to a beautiful waterfall where we took a bath to refresh from the burning sun. The water is cold but “manageable”.

After another few km we reach the end of the valley at the Cola Caballo waterfall (1850m), where a lot of people are taking a nice bath. We stopped too and take a break/bath again.

From that point we have to climb a 200m wall. Easy peasy, watching our steps and climbing with the chains. Nice views on top of the cliff.

From there we have just 30m-1h until we reach the Refugee Goriz (2250m), where we install the tents for camping and relax until next day early in the morning.

At 7:00 wake up, a frugal breakfast and a coffee and start hiking the Monte Perdido. It starts with some climbing, easy, but from now on the path is serious. The air with less oxygen is already felt and our pace is slower now.

After few hours hiking on rocks and paths with chains, we reach the lake Lago Helado (2800m), the starting point of La Pedrera, a quite difficult path of small rocks until the summit of Monte Perdido. This part can be dangerous if there is snow, ice or rain. We had a very nice day so for us was the perfect day.

This part will require strong determination. The rocks you walk are very deceptive, 2 steps up and 1 down. You will have to find a way to climb as much as you can in one step so you will not lose terrain. But in the end after 1-2h we’ve reached the plateau and from there another few minutes until the summit of Monte Perdido (3355m). The views are spectacular around. You can see both France and Spain with their huge mountains.

The path back to Lago Helado, now is super easy, we just ski on those small rocks until we’ve reached the lake.

From there back to Goriz refugee and Pradera Ordesa on the same track, to take the last bus to Torla. In total 20 km in 19 hours walking/bus, during 2 days. Amazing trip, amazing views!

Here is a video compilation of the entire trip. If you like it, please upvote and if you want to do this hike, or any other route around Ordesa National Park, you can contact me anytime. I can arrange accommodation, guide, live music, good food and many other activities.