What to do in Aragon

Aragon shares with the Pyrenees the highest concentration of high mountain terrain in the Iberian Peninsula. Aneto, at 3,404 metres, is the highest peak in the Pyrenees, and the approach from Besurta in the Maladeta massif combines a residual glacier, moraines and bare rock in a twelve-hour round trip for mountaineers experienced with crampons. Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park has four valleys with distinct character: Ordesa concentrates technical hiking beneath 500-metre cliffs, Añisclo is a limestone gorge where the Bellós river carves transparent pools, and Pineta offers the longest, most solitary approach to the Monte Perdido massif. The Sierra de Guara, south of the Pyrenees, is the densest canyoning territory in Europe. Over 50 documented descents, ranging from the beginner-friendly Alquézar canyon to multi-day traverses through the Peonera and Mascún gorges. The Vero river carves limestone into waterfalls and natural slides that draw crowds in summer and empty in spring and autumn, when conditions are technically more demanding. The Aragonese Pyrenean valleys sustain a dense network of mountain huts that allows high-mountain traverses without carrying a tent. The GR11, which crosses the Pyrenees along the Spanish side, passes Aneto, the Maladeta, the Ojo del Diablo at Astún and the Infierno de Panticosa. In winter, snow loads these valleys from December to April, with ski resorts like Formigal and Candanchú as access points and cross-country skiing trails in the Benasque Valley and Llanos del Hospital. Moncayo, at the southern edge of the region, reaches 2,316 metres and acts as a climatic buffer between the humid Iberian range and the dry Ebro Valley. Its beech and oak slopes offer accessible hiking year-round, with the Moncayo Sanctuary as a historical landmark and the Natural Park as a protected zone.