Guided Via Ferratas in Aran: Cledes, Arties and Pui de Unha

A via ferrata is a rock face equipped with staples, rungs, bridges and a steel cable to which you are secured the whole time. It is halfway between a hike and a climb: it gives the feeling of exposure of a vertical rock without the technique of a climber. Aran has several, and Altisport Aventura, from Vielha, runs them with a guide at three levels, from the first-timers' one at Les to the long one on Pui de Unha, above Salardú.

Cledes, the first-timers' one

Altisport's beginner stretch, of an hour and a half and €45, is done at Cledes or at Arties. The Cledes one is at Les, in the lower Aran: according to Visit Val d'Aran, it is 125 metres of route with 80 of elevation, two minutes from the car. It starts with a terrace and a 35-metre bridge, continues up a vertical tower and an 8-metre Tibetan bridge, and ends on a 42-metre wall that comes out at a viewpoint. It is grade K2, and the tourist office says it is suitable for children from 110 cm tall. It is the right one for someone who has never put on a harness or for teenagers keen to try.

Arties, a step up

At Arties, the village between Vielha and Baqueira, Altisport runs the medium stretch: about two hours, for €55. It needs a bit more arm strength and head for heights than Cledes; if anyone in the group has serious vertigo, it is better to start with the one at Les.

Pui de Unha, for those already used to it

The Pui de Unha is the high level: two and a half hours with a guide, for €73, and the company offers it in low season. According to Visit Val d'Aran, the route starts after a 25-minute approach from the Unha car park, at 1,350 metres, and has three sections and about 500 metres of ascent up to 2,221 metres: the first beginner level and the other two difficult, with a ladder, a 20-metre Tibetan bridge and a slab wall over the void. Ask which sections you will do in the two and a half hours.

What they give you, what to bring and how to pay

The guide provides the helmet, harness, energy absorber and carabiners, and explains how to use them before you start. You bring mountain or sports shoes with a good sole, comfortable clothes, gloves if you have them and water. For €5 per person they make a photo report. Altisport does not publish a minimum age or weight for its outings: ask when booking.

You meet at the Altisport shop, at Carrer des Arroquets, 3, in Vielha. When booking you pay half by bank transfer and the rest in cash on the day of the activity. Cancelling more than 12 days ahead costs nothing; between 7 and 12 days before you lose half of what you paid, and with less than a week, everything. In low season each departure needs at least three people.

With the Garonne on the same day

The beginner ferrata with Garonne rafting comes as a pack at €75 on the same day or €80 on different days, if the second half is paid in cash. For lunch in Arties, the original Tauèrna Urtau has stood in Plaça Urtau since 1963, and the Hotel Casa Irene has a restaurant on Carrer Major.