Like all other reviewers until now, I approached this WHS from the Spanish side through Ordesa National Park. The town of Torla is an easy and comfortable access point. At 7.30 a.m. I took one of the first shuttle buses of the day into the park. There were 10 other hikers aboard, certainly not a lot for a Saturday in July. The Mont Perdu WHS apparently sees more than 2 million visitors yearly (Spanish and French totals combined), which is hard to believe given its low-key appearance.

I had been in doubt about which hike to do: the longer trail along the ridge (Senda de los Cazadores), or the shorter one through the valley. My experiences from a few days before in the Madriu Valley made me choose the shorter trail: I am not fond of climbing a lot or getting soaking wet due to a surprise rain shower. The valley hike is still 17km long and takes 5 to 6 hours. Both trails end at the Cola de Caballo waterfall.

The valley hike has three distinct parts. It starts with an uphill slug through a forest, not the most interesting stretch and it took me 1.5 hours. Things brighten up a lot when you’re in the open at last: the path next to the river is lovely. I especially liked all the flowers in bloom, their colours and their smell. After a series of steep waterfalls, you’ll reach the alpine plateau with views of Mont Perdu. It gets much cooler here. A herd of cows was lazing around near the finishing point. In all, a fine scenic walk but a pity that you have to walk the same route back.

The next day I had some hours to kill before my flight home, and I decided to visit another part of Ordesa National Park. The Añisco Canyon lies beyond the village of Fanlo, about 40 minutes to the east of Torla. It is not signposted very well so you’ll have to look for directions beforehand (my car navigation also wasn’t helpful). Central point is the Ermita de San Úrbez, an 8th-century hermit’s cave and pilgrimage destination. I approached it from the upper car park, which leaves you with 2x 15 minutes of hiking time to the site itself.

The lower car park can only be reached from the other side of the canyon. It lies next to the bridge to the hermit’s cave. There’s a fine 1-hour trail that leads you along various viewpoints into the canyon. As noted in our Connections section, the Ermita de San Úrbez also is the home of another WHS: a piece of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin is also here. But where is it? I vaguely remember having read a description that it can be found just outside the cave, however, there’s no sign or any other indication. What a weird WHS this Mediterranean Rock Art is, I think it proves a country cannot maintain 727 separate locations!

A bit disillusioned I walk back to the parking lot. Suddenly I see a huge bird oozing through the canyon. There’s no doubt – it must be the bearded vulture with its enormous wingspan and white head. I had seen some others the day before but from a large distance, so it wasn’t clear if these were bearded or “regular” (griffon) vultures. Seeing one passing by so closely was a magnificent finale to my visit to Ordesa NP.