42.62° N · 0.12° W · Ordesa Valley
The stretch of about 10 km between Torla and Broto strings together class III and IV rapids. It only runs with snowmelt water, from April to July, and it is not for a first outing with children: the minimum age is 14.
Part of Ordesa ValleySobrarbePyreneesUnusual places to stay in SpainHorse riding routes in Spain
Who offers it
Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.
Step by step
You meet in the Torla car park, put on the wetsuit, helmet and life jacket, and the guide explains how to paddle, how to hold on to the raft and what to do if you fall in the water. You practise on dry land before going into the river.
About 10 km of almost continuous class III and IV rapids through the limestone canyon, with few stretches of calm water in between.
You leave the river at Broto and go back to the Torla car park to change. In total, between three and four hours.
The Ara runs down from Ordesa with no reservoirs, so it only has enough flow for rafting in spring and early summer. The stretch from Torla to Broto is continuous and technical: no experience is needed, but you must be happy to get wet.
It is the river that leaves the Ordesa National Park and reaches Broto through a limestone canyon, with emerald-coloured pools and the Mallos de Broto in the background. As it has no dams to regulate the flow, the water it carries is the snowmelt from above: plenty in May and June, little from August on. That makes it a short-season rafting trip, with a lively, changing river, unlike the regulated Pyrenean rivers that can be run all summer.
In the raft there is always a qualified guide who steers it and gives the commands. You paddle when told to and hold on when the time comes. No previous technique is needed: you learn it in the briefing at the start.
For teenagers from age 14 and adults who feel at ease in the water and want a river with power. It is a medium-to-hard stretch: the rapids come almost one after another and there is little time to rest between them. If you are travelling with younger children, this is not your river; the same company also runs the Gállego and the Ésera, with different stretches and ages, and in the valley there are introductory canyons from age 12.
The meeting point is the car park in Torla, the same one the buses to the Ordesa valley leave from. From Zaragoza it is about two hours along the A-23 towards Sabiñánigo and then the N-260. From Pamplona, an hour and three quarters along the N-240 and the A-132. The car park is free, but in high season it fills up: arrive with time to spare. Getting there is up to you. Without a car, Torla has a regular bus from Sabiñánigo, with few departures: check the current timetable from the Government of Aragón before relying on it.
The season runs from April to July. May and June are the months with the most water and the biggest rapids. In April the water is very cold and in July the river is already running lower, although the weather is kinder.
From €50 per person, with a 3 mm wetsuit, neoprene boots, life jacket, helmet, paddle, guide and accident insurance. You can also ask for a 5 mm neoprene jacket. The thermal T-shirt, river footwear and towel are not included, so add them if you don’t have them. Parking costs nothing.
Rain matters little, because you are going to get wet anyway; what counts is the water flow. When you book, ask what happens if the river is not fit to run that day. If it doesn’t go ahead, in the valley you have the Sorrosal via ferrata in Broto, the Medio Forcos canyon in Bergua or, in good weather, the Estrecho waterfalls.
Who it's for
You are 14 or older, feel comfortable in the water and are looking for a river with power rather than a leisurely paddle.
You are going with children or it is your first time in a raft and you want something gentle. In that case look for a calmer stretch or wait until summer to try canyoning.
What to bring
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Tips
That is when the snowmelt gives the most water. In July the river already runs lower.
Transport to the meeting point is not included and the car park fills up in high season.
In a raft that bounces between rapids, anything not tied down gets lost.
The descent takes half a day: the other half is enough for a short walk in Ordesa or the Sorrosal ferrata.
Questions
No. Before getting in the water there is a briefing with practice, and the guide is in the raft and steers it.
From age 14 on this stretch, because of how difficult the rapids are.
From €50 per person, with equipment, guide and insurance included.
From April to July. Outside those dates the Ara does not carry enough water to run this stretch.
In the Torla car park, the same one as the buses to the Ordesa valley. It is free.
Between three and four hours in total, of which about two are on the water.
You wear a life jacket and helmet, and the briefing explains how to position yourself and how to get back to the raft. The guide tells you what to do at every moment.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/ordesa-valley/things-to-do/ara-river-rafting
