Valle de Tena

Valle de Tena opens between the summits of the Aragonese Pyrenees with unusual clarity: the main valley runs south to north following the Gállego River, flanked by slopes reaching 2,700 metres on peaks such as Peña Foratata and the Anayet massif at 2,545 metres. The landscape shifts with altitude and season — in winter snow covers the meadows of Sallent de Gállego and turns the slopes of Formigal into ski runs; in summer those same flanks become ascent trails to high-mountain lakes like Ibón de Respomuso at 2,200 metres and Ibón de Anayet, two glacial water bodies surrounded by bare rock and alpine grasslands.

The Gállego River runs north to south, first channelled through the gorges of Escarra and Escarrilla before widening into the Búbal reservoir, built in the 1950s to supply water for irrigation in the middle Ebro basin. Lateral tributaries add depth to the hydrological system: the Aguas Limpias ravine in the northern headwaters gives its name to one of the most-used access routes to the glacial cirque around Garmo Negro peak. In spring, when snowmelt is rapid, these streams swell noticeably and the sound of water becomes a constant companion in the valley.

Sallent de Gállego, at 1,305 metres, is the main village at the head of the valley. From here routes lead to the Piedrafita cirque with its lake at 2,160 metres and to the Portalet pass on the French border. Formigal hosts the largest alpine ski resort in the Aragonese Pyrenees, with 137 kilometres of pistes across four sectors. In summer the resort adapts its infrastructure for mountain biking and high-altitude hiking. Biescas, further south, serves as the valley gateway and provides access to Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park about 40 kilometres to the east.

Wildlife in the valley includes well-established Pyrenean species. The Pyrenean chamois appears regularly on rocky slopes above the tree line; in summer groups can be spotted near Ibón de Respomuso. The bearded vulture, with a wingspan up to 2.8 metres, uses the valley's thermal currents for daily movements between feeding areas. The forests of silver fir, mountain pine and beech at mid-altitude shelter roe deer, wild boar and pine marten, while high-altitude zones support rock ptarmigan. Alpine flora includes edelweiss, yellow gentian and multiple saxifrage species adapted to the rocky crevices of glacial cirques.

Beyond its natural assets, the valley sustains a network of small communities whose economy has shifted progressively towards tourism without abandoning its pastoral roots. Transhumance still takes place each autumn when flocks descend from the high summer pastures through the valley floor towards lower wintering grounds. The stone architecture of Biescas and Sallent de Gállego reflects the vernacular building tradition of the Aragonese Pyrenees, with broad eaves designed to shed snow from pitched roofs. Visitors who arrive outside the ski season — particularly in June and September, before the busiest weeks — find the trail network largely to themselves, with hut-to-hut options including the classic section of the GR-11 traverse that crosses the valley from east to west connecting Bachimaña to Panticosa.