Bielsa tunnel to le Plan via Puerta Vieja and the Valle de Gela.

A high level walk over a Pyrenean pass used by families to escape the clutches of Franco during the Spanish civil war. There are information baords at the French end of this walk and also at the town hall in Bielsa explaining the significance of the “Bolsa de Bielsa” – that is the pocket of resistance of Bielsa.

The views from the pass and as you descend into France are unparalleled.

Spanish maps included within these descriptions are provided courtesy of the Spanish IGN and remain © Instituto Geográfico Nacional.
OSM (OpenStreetMap) and OCM (OpenCycleMap) maps are © OpenStreetMap Contributors. The OSM project welcomes contributions from all to enrich the map data, which is made freely available. Land (Thunderforest Landscape) maps are © Thunderforest based on data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Click here to see this walk on a map

The grade of this walk is S/B, which means
S – Strenuous: More than 600 metres ascent and/or more than 15km in length with steep, loose or heavily vegetated sections.
B – Less than half the route on rough ground.

Nearest town	Bielsa
Directions to start	From northern Spain, E of both Jaca and Sabinanigo take the A138 north to find Bielsa village. Continue N on the A138 towards France passing the small viallge of Parzan on the way. Drive through the tunnel and into France and down the valley to arrive at a Signposted track on the LHS and a parking area on the RHS just before a zig-zag bend. Leave car here and return to Spain! The car park at the S end of the tunnel (from where the walk starts) is IMMEDIATELY as you exit the tunnel on the LHS beyond the management building. In theory this L turn is illegal (and signed so) but in most cases there will be such light traffic as makes this unimportant.
Start point (Lat/Long)	42.720631, 0.198692 Click here to view in Google Maps (in a new browser tab)
Length (km)	12.00
Ascent (metres)	770
Walking time (hours)	4.33
Total time (hours)	6.00
Recommendations or Restrictions	Car shuffle needed.