In addition to the mountains, the Pyrenees and northern Spain contain a number of special natural phenomena. Here are some from the area we visited.
Parque Natural de Sierra y los Canones
The Pyrenees have a number of national parks. This is as the name indicates characterized by its mountains and ravines / gorges. We drove up to Rodellar, a small village in the middle of the area and found a campsite by a small river. There was not much water in the turquoise river, but it was dammed up so it became a great swimming area under an old bridge. It looked Moorish, so guess it was from the 16th century.
The park is especially known for its ravines where you can go rock climbing, or traversing through the partly narrow gorges, equipped with wetsuits and helmets. The many Spanish tourists were keen on this, but we chose a slightly safer way to visit them, through a hike. There are countless opportunities for hiking in the area, down in the gorges or up in the mountains.
Aragon’s Great Wall of China
A unique geological formation is Muralla China de Finestres, a 500 meter long double wall of rock that stands straight up from the ground. The wall is 10 to 20 meters high, and I measured it to about 60 cm thick at the bottom, decreasing upwards. It crosses a gorge and partly goes into a large water reservoir filled with turquoise water. Close by is the abandoned village of Finestres overlooking the sea.
Do not choose the wrong road
Driving there takes about an hour from the main road. For tthe last half you should have four-wheel drive, or at least a car with good ground clearance. Be careful which road you take. There are two roads out of the village of Estopiñan and they are not signposted. We made the wrong choice and ended up on a very narrow road with steep drops which was quite demanding. Luckily we did not meet anyone because then one of us must have backed many hundreds of meters. See map for route selection.
There are several opportunities for wild camping at Finestres. We drove on a short distance from the parking lot and found a great place with a view of the wall. There were also a few promising places in old olive groves before coming to Finestres.
As usual, there are several eremites, chapels, at the most inaccessible places. Here there are 3 of them, the most spectacular high up in the mountainside, right between the two walls.
It’s fine to climb up to it. Follow the path down to the bottom of the gorge, and up on the other side. You get the best view of the wall from the ermitage at the top closest to Finestres.
The desert Bardenas Reales
Admittedly only a semi-desert, but since it is the only one in Europe, it is quite unique. If you are around, it is well worth a visit. The desert is located just south of Pamplona and has a number of unique eroded rock formations.
This is the fourth travel letter from our road trip to the Pyrenees 2021. The previous ones are:
Roadtrip to the Pyrenees – Maginot Line and the Jura Mountains
Provence Roadtrip
Pyrenees – a Roadtrip
Pyrenees – road trip to abandoned villages
