High Noguera Ribagorzana River Valleys

Montanuy, Bonansa, Sopeira, Arén and Puente de Montañana, located on the right side of the river, are the Aragonese towns hosting this natural space.

There, under the highest peaks in the Pyrenees, some valleys may be found, such as Barrabés, Salenques, Llauset and Baliera, environmentally rich natural spaces with landscapes hosting farming hamlets.

Once you arrive, you will discover a mountain environment where peace can be breathed and, consequently, frequently visited by alpinism fans more than by strictly tourists. There are countless chances to climb high peaks and to go trekking.

From Barrabes valley you can go trekking to really marvelous spaces, like the spectacular Maladeta mountain. Stepping into the nice Llauset valley allows you to walk through easy itineraries or to climb famous peaks like ‘Vallibierna’ (3,067 m) and ‘Tuca de Culebras’ (3,062m high).

By the GR11, north from Aneto, you can ramp down the river Salenques, crossing infinite beech forests. And from Castanesa, don’t miss the circular route which runs around Baliera valley.

The surroundings provide a wide range of natural habitats, from high mountain ones to alpine and sub-alpine fields, black pine woods, beech and fir trees, down the farming land. This variety allows us to enjoy a rich alpine biodiversity, becoming this space the last redoubt to vegetal and animal endangered or endemic species like the Pyrenees lily, as a flower, or the snow partridge, grizzly bear, the osprey or the pyrenean newt.

Just on the shorethe swamp of Sopeira, the monastery of Santa María de Alaón is still standing, the most ancient in this territory, documented from year 806.

Dinousaurs lived in Arén more than sixty-five million years ago and today their fossilized footprints and bonds remains are still visible at the archaeological sites in this village.

Medieval old town of Montañana contains more than a thousand years of history.  From its thriving past, it keeps three Romanesque churches, the remains of two castles and a beautiful medieval bridge. Only a few medieval villages preserve its essence like this does, anchored in the past and still free from mass tourism.
 
Don’t miss the fascinating travel through Nature, History and Heritage in the northeastern valleys of Aragón.