# A weekend in Ordesa, 1 h 20 from Huesca

Two nights in Torla to climb to the Cola de Caballo on the first bus, look down into the canyon from above and stroll round Bujaruelo. 1 h 20 from Huesca and 2 h from Zaragoza.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/ordesa-valley/itineraries/ordesa-weekend-torla-from-huesca · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Ordesa Valley

From Huesca, the Ordesa valley is an hour and twenty away: the A-23 to Sabiñánigo, the Petralba tunnel to Fiscal and the Ara valley to Torla. It is close enough to do in a day, but the valley is better enjoyed over two. This plan splits the weekend between the classic route to the Cola de Caballo, the canyon seen from above in a 4x4 and a quiet stroll round Bujaruelo before heading back. From Zaragoza it is two hours; from Pamplona, two and a quarter.

## When to go and how do you get in?

June brings the waterfalls with the most water and in October the beech wood turns red. At Easter, from 19 June to 20 September and on several long weekends and weekends in autumn, cars can't go beyond Torla: you park free next to the visitor centre and take the shuttle bus up to the Pradera, €6 return and free for under-10s. You can't book. The first leaves at 6:00, at 7:00 in October, and if there are 1,800 people in the valley at once, the ascents are suspended. The rest of the year you can drive to the Pradera, and its car park fills early.

RouteTimeAscentFor whom

Estrecho and Arripas waterfalls2 h there and back100 mWith children, the first day

Cola de Caballo via the Gradas de Soaso5 h 30 there and back550 mRegular walkers

Faja de Pelay7 h circular650 mFit and without vertigo

Bujaruelo valley50 minFlatFor the last day

## Where to sleep?

Torla is the base for catching the first bus: everything is within walking distance. Broto and Oto, ten minutes away, have apartments and a campsite for families. At Bujaruelo, outside the park, the Hotel Bujaruelo and the refuge are the most isolated option, at the end of a track. For motorhomes, the camper area at the Oto campsite admits dogs. At Camping Río Ara, beside the river in Torla, pitches start from €29 a night.

## If you like adventure

With teenagers, swap Sunday's viewpoints for the Sorrosal via ferrata, in Broto: two and a half hours inside a waterfall with Guías de Torla Ordesa, from €55 with equipment and from age 10. From April to July, rafting on the Ara between Torla and Broto is the other option, from age 14.

## El plan

### Friday · 19:00 · Arrival in Torla
Huesca to Torla in an hour and twenty. Dinner at El Duende, a stone house from 1831 on Calle de la Iglesia, booking by phone. Buy the bus ticket if it is the season and get your rucksack ready: water, food and a waterproof. If you arrive earlier, the Cotefablo pass, on the old road from Biescas, is the slow and beautiful way into the valley.

### Saturday · 06:30 · First bus to the Pradera
The earlier you go up, the fewer people. From the Pradera, the path climbs through the forest beside the Arazas river.

### Saturday · 07:00 · Estrecho waterfalls and the Cola de Caballo
The first waterfalls, Arripas, La Cueva and El Estrecho, are an hour away. If you are with children or haven't the legs for more, cross the river above Arripas and come back along the other bank. If you carry on, the Gradas de Soaso take you to the Cola de Caballo in two and a half to three hours from the Pradera. Eat up there what you carry.

### Saturday · 16:00 · Bus back and an afternoon in Torla
You go back down to the Pradera the same way. At the Pradera there is a restaurant that sells the return ticket, cash only.

### Sunday · 09:00 · 4x4 viewpoints from Broto
With Miradores de Ordesa you go up by off-road vehicle from Broto or Buesa to Pico Estatón and walk 4.5 km along the Rey, Reina and Herradura viewpoints, above the canyon. About four hours, from €49.50 per person, with a guide. Book on their website; from age 6.

### Sunday · 14:00 · Lunch in Sarvisé and a walk round Bujaruelo
Coming down from the viewpoints, Casa Frauca, in Sarvisé, serves seasonal homestyle cooking and kid from the valley; it is open on Sunday and closed Monday and Tuesday. Then go up from Torla to San Nicolás de Bujaruelo: a Romanesque bridge, the refuge with a restaurant and a circular walk of 3.4 km along both banks of the Ara, with no ascent. After that, back to Huesca via Fiscal and Petralba.

## Un consejo más

Sleep in Torla the night before Saturday. Catching the first bus is the difference between an empty valley and a pilgrimage.

## Cuándo no ir

The Pilar long weekend and August, if you want peace. They are the busiest days on the path and there are queues for the bus in mid-morning.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take from Huesca?
An hour and twenty by car to Torla, via the A-23, the Petralba tunnel and Fiscal. From Zaragoza, about two hours.

### Can it be done in a day?
Yes, but you would have to leave Huesca at five to catch the first bus. With a night in Torla, the day goes twice as far.

### Do I have to pay to enter the park?
No. Only for the shuttle bus when it is compulsory: €6 return, free for under-10s.

### Can I bring a dog?
Yes, always on a lead. On the bus it travels in the hold and pays €2 return. On the 4x4 excursion one is admitted per booking, with a €10 supplement.

### Which route should I do with children?
The Estrecho waterfalls: an hour each way with 100 metres of ascent. The Cola de Caballo only with children used to walking.

## Dónde dormir in a campervan
- **Camping Oto Motorhome Area**, desde 20 € / night: A budget area inside a large campsite
Camping Oto is in Oto, next to Broto, in the Broto valley (Sobrarbe), 10 km from Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. You get there on the N-260, taking the turn-off in Broto. It is a family campsite with 281 pitches of 60 to 100 m², with grass and plenty of tree shade, and it also has a separate area exclusively for motorhomes and campervans that the campsite itself calls "lowcost": you stay overnight at a lower price than on the pitches and with its own services.
For motorhome travellers it is a halfway point between a public aire and a campsite pitch: you sleep inside the grounds, with a motorhome service area and drinking water supply, and you can use the campsite's facilities.
Prices
The campsite does not take reservations: you turn up and ask. The website publishes the 2026 rates for the pitches, VAT included; high season is July and August, and low season is the rest of the year:

Adult: €5.60 in low season and €6.30 in high.
Child aged 2 to 14: €5.10 and €5.80.
Motorhome or camper: €8.40 and €9.30.
Electricity: €5.60 and €6.30.

With that table, two adults with a motorhome on a pitch, without electricity, pay €19.60 a night in low season and €21.90 in high. The website does not publish the specific rate for the lowcost area; it says only that it is cheaper than the pitches, so confirm it at reception.
Dogs are admitted at no charge, on a lead at all times and following the campsite rules; breeds classed as dangerous are not admitted.
What the campsite has
The main building has reception, a restaurant, a bar-café with a terrace, a supermarket and a first-aid room. There are toilet blocks with showers, sinks, washing-up and laundry areas and baby baths, chemical toilet emptying, swimming pools, a covered picnic area with barbecues, a playground and football, basketball and volleyball courts. At Casa Pueyo, the campsite also rents apartments.
Getting to Ordesa
From Oto you drive up to Torla, about 10 minutes away. On the days the bus runs, cars cannot go beyond Torla: you park for free and take the Torla bus up to the Pradera. To fill up, the Broto petrol station is on the N-260. Very close you have the Sorrosal via ferrata, in Broto, and rafting on the River Ara.
Telephone 974 486 075; email info@campingoto.com.
- **Camping Río Ara**, desde 29 € / pitch: A family campsite at the foot of Torla, in woodland beside the river, with shaded and unshaded pitches and a grocery shop. It is open from 22 May to 16 October and admits dogs on a lead. ACSI gives an indicative price of about €29 a night for two adults with a pitch.

## Dónde dormir if you're on foot
- **Góriz Refuge**, desde 28.4 € / bed: A night at the base of Monte Perdido
Góriz is the high-mountain refuge of Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, at 2,200 m, in the municipality of Fanlo. It belongs to the Aragonese Mountaineering Federation, which runs it; construction began in 1961 and it is open and staffed every day of the year: in winter there are usually two wardens, and in summer up to nine people look after it. From here you set out before dawn for the summit of Monte Perdido by the normal route, and also for the Cilindro, the Marboré, the Taillón, the Brecha de Rolando or the Casteret ice cave. The GR 11 and the Vuelta al Perdido pass by the door.
You sleep in shared dormitories of several beds, 80 places in all, with a sleeping bag liner or sleeping bag compulsory. The refuge's page on the booking website lists heating, blankets and rest footwear, and there are toilets and hot showers and lockers. It is cold at night even in summer: the federation warns of this when you book. There is no mobile coverage; there is a public telephone, an emergency radio and a first-aid kit.
Eating, paying and when to book
The bar is open from 6:30 to 22:00. Breakfasts from 6:30 to 8:30; lunches from 12:30 to 15:30, with no booking. Dinner is served at 19:30, with a second sitting around 20:30 when needed, and you don't choose the sitting. It is a fixed menu of a starter, a main course with a side and a dessert, with bread and water; tell them when you book about intolerances or if you are ovo-lacto vegetarian, because they do not offer a vegan menu. They prepare packed lunches and have a small shop.
2026 rates for non-federated adults over 14: bed, €28.40; breakfast, €11.50; dinner, €23.50; packed lunch, €16.20. With a card from a federation with a refuge reciprocity agreement, the bed falls to €21.20 and dinner to €20. Under-14s, €14 for the bed. They hire out crampons and ice axes.
You book online only, on the Albergues y Refugios de Aragón website, paying a deposit; the rest is paid there, in cash or by card. Bookings for 2027 open on 6 January, and before that date they do not take requests by email or telephone. You must arrive before 19:00 to confirm your place. If you cancel more than six days ahead, the deposit is refunded minus costs; in the last five days it is lost. Beside the refuge there is a camping area for 50 people, the only one allowed in the Ordesa sector, which can be booked only when there is no room inside: €17.30 per person, with a shower and locker.
Getting there
On foot only. The usual route leaves the Pradera de Ordesa on the GR 11 and climbs by the Gradas de Soaso and the Cola de Caballo: about four hours. In summer, at Easter and over the Pilar bank-holiday weekend, you go up to the Pradera on the Torla bus. In winter the refuge recommends the Soaso pegs, because of the avalanche risk on the zigzag path. From Nerín, over Cuello Arenas, it is about four hours; from Bujaruelo, about six; from Pineta or through Añisclo, six to eight, and these are not recommended in winter.
- **Hotel Casa Frauca**, desde 80 € / night: Sarvisé is a small village on the Ordesa road, between Broto and Fiscal, and Casa Frauca is its hotel with a restaurant: a house with a climbing-plant-covered facade on avenida de Ordesa, with twelve rooms, a reception, a social lounge with a fireplace, a bar and a large garden terrace with views of the mountains surrounding the village.
Twelve rooms, some under the roof
All have a full bathroom and a different decor. Some are attic rooms, those with the most mountain feel according to the house, and there are rooms for three people. From the windows you can see the landscape of the valley.
What it costs each season
2026 prices per room and night, with breakfast and VAT included:

Double: €80 in low season, €84 in mid and €88 in high.
Attic or large double: €90, €94 and €98.
Triple attic: €125, €130 and €135.
Single: €64, €68 and €72.

High season is Easter, August and the long weekends (1 May, 24 June, 12 October, 1 November and 6 and 8 December); mid season is July, September and October; the rest of the year is low. Book with the form on the website or on 974 486 353 and 616 426 463.
Dining without taking the car
The house restaurant seats forty, with seasonal home cooking and the 2026 Repsol Guide recommendation. It closes Monday and Tuesday, except on long weekends and in summer, when it opens every day: if you arrive on a Monday in November, have dinner elsewhere or ask beforehand. The menu and prices are on the Casa Frauca restaurant listing.
Ten minutes to Torla
You arrive by car on the N-260; the hotel has parking. Torla is about ten minutes away. On bus days, the car is left at the Torla car park and you go up to the Pradera on the shuttle; the rest of the year you can drive up.
Without leaving the valley you have rafting on the Ara, the horse rides from Sarvisé and the Sorrosal ferrata in Broto. For day trips, the house suggests Aínsa, the Añisclo canyon, the Pineta valley, Benasque or the Tena valley.
The website does not say whether dogs are accepted: ask before you book.
- **Bujaruelo Refuge**: A refuge at the end of the valley
The Bujaruelo refuge stands beside the Romanesque bridge at San Nicolás de Bujaruelo, at the end of the track that climbs from the Puente de los Navarros, in the Bujaruelo valley. It is a stopping point on the GR 11 and the Alta Ruta de los Perdidos, between the Ordesa, Panticosa and Gavarnie valleys. It is not inside the National Park, so you can drive to it every day of the year without relying on the Ordesa bus.
It works as a mountain refuge with rooms, a restaurant and a bar, and also has a campsite, which in November 2026 is closed. The accommodation and restaurant announced they were open until 3 January 2027.
The rooms
There is everything from private rooms to long shared bunks:

Double with a double bed, with private bathroom, sheets and towels included.
For two, with one bunk bed and private bathroom.
For four, with two bunk beds and a bathroom, shared.
For six, with bunk beds and a full bathroom, shared.
For fifteen, with a long bunk and a full bathroom: the cheapest way to sleep here.

In the rooms with bunk beds you need to bring a sleeping bag liner and towel; at reception they hire out a set of sheets and a duvet for €6. Guests have their own lounge. Room check-in is from 16:00, with online registration. It is best to book on their website, where they often post offers.
Eating
The restaurant works by reservation only. Lunches are in sittings at 13:30 and 15:00, and dinners at 20:00 or 21:00; the bar is open from 7:00 to 22:00. They cook with local produce: beef from the Broto valley, lamb from a Broto butcher's, longaniza sausage from Graus and cheese from the valley. The 2026 menu includes shepherd's migas with egg, grapes, chistorra and longaniza (€13.50), stewed beans with their accompanying cured meats, local lamb chops (€25), a 400 g sirloin of Broto valley beef (€25) and oxtail stew (€19), and spaghetti or a burger for children. They have dishes for people with allergies and intolerances.
Getting there and parking
From Torla, follow the road towards Ordesa to the Puente de los Navarros and take the forest track up the Bujaruelo valley: it is suitable for vehicles, but takes about 20 minutes. Halfway you pass a campsite; keep going to a large meadow, where the car park is. If you are going to spend several days in the mountains, leave the car in the designated area.
It is the base for the circular walk along both banks of the Ara and for continuing on the GR 11. For the Ordesa canyon, in season you have to take the Torla bus.
Telephone 974 48 64 12; email info@refugiodebujaruelo.com.

## Dónde dormir if you're in a 4x4
- **Camping Río Ara**, desde 29 € / pitch: A family campsite at the foot of Torla, in woodland beside the river, with shaded and unshaded pitches and a grocery shop. It is open from 22 May to 16 October and admits dogs on a lead. ACSI gives an indicative price of about €29 a night for two adults with a pitch.
- **Bujaruelo Refuge**: A refuge at the end of the valley
The Bujaruelo refuge stands beside the Romanesque bridge at San Nicolás de Bujaruelo, at the end of the track that climbs from the Puente de los Navarros, in the Bujaruelo valley. It is a stopping point on the GR 11 and the Alta Ruta de los Perdidos, between the Ordesa, Panticosa and Gavarnie valleys. It is not inside the National Park, so you can drive to it every day of the year without relying on the Ordesa bus.
It works as a mountain refuge with rooms, a restaurant and a bar, and also has a campsite, which in November 2026 is closed. The accommodation and restaurant announced they were open until 3 January 2027.
The rooms
There is everything from private rooms to long shared bunks:

Double with a double bed, with private bathroom, sheets and towels included.
For two, with one bunk bed and private bathroom.
For four, with two bunk beds and a bathroom, shared.
For six, with bunk beds and a full bathroom, shared.
For fifteen, with a long bunk and a full bathroom: the cheapest way to sleep here.

In the rooms with bunk beds you need to bring a sleeping bag liner and towel; at reception they hire out a set of sheets and a duvet for €6. Guests have their own lounge. Room check-in is from 16:00, with online registration. It is best to book on their website, where they often post offers.
Eating
The restaurant works by reservation only. Lunches are in sittings at 13:30 and 15:00, and dinners at 20:00 or 21:00; the bar is open from 7:00 to 22:00. They cook with local produce: beef from the Broto valley, lamb from a Broto butcher's, longaniza sausage from Graus and cheese from the valley. The 2026 menu includes shepherd's migas with egg, grapes, chistorra and longaniza (€13.50), stewed beans with their accompanying cured meats, local lamb chops (€25), a 400 g sirloin of Broto valley beef (€25) and oxtail stew (€19), and spaghetti or a burger for children. They have dishes for people with allergies and intolerances.
Getting there and parking
From Torla, follow the road towards Ordesa to the Puente de los Navarros and take the forest track up the Bujaruelo valley: it is suitable for vehicles, but takes about 20 minutes. Halfway you pass a campsite; keep going to a large meadow, where the car park is. If you are going to spend several days in the mountains, leave the car in the designated area.
It is the base for the circular walk along both banks of the Ara and for continuing on the GR 11. For the Ordesa canyon, in season you have to take the Torla bus.
Telephone 974 48 64 12; email info@refugiodebujaruelo.com.
