Geology of Aragon, Spanish Pyrenees: 7-day expert-led tour
Journey through the beautiful landscapes and amazing villages on our geology tour of the Pyrenees while sampling the best in local culture and cuisine.
Highlights
Uncover the amazing processes behind the formation of mountain belts as you’re immersed in the spectacular scenery and geological structures of the central Pyrenees.
Discover ancient mountain villages, sample Pyrenean and Spanish cuisine, and visit a little-known wine region.
Enjoy short walks in dramatic mountainous landscapes.
Visit a location portrayed in The DaVinci Code.
Stay in charming, welcoming hotels, each a unique reflection of its locality.
Montserrat
Overview
Explore the mountain landscapes, geology, culture, food and wine of Aragón, one of Spain’s distinct and unique Autonomous Regions in the Pyrenees.
The forces generated by the collision of the Iberian and European geological plates created the Pyrenees. The process exposed a fascinating mosaic of rocks and structures in the mountain range’s beautiful landscapes.
Throw in a sunny climate, superb local cuisine and fascinating culture, and it’s no wonder the Pyrenees are a glorious natural laboratory seemingly tailor-made for demonstrating the anatomy and evolution of a mountain belt. The area’s enthralling history and local culture are an integral part of your tour, with the carefully chosen hotels you stay in completing the experience .
Your tour begins in Barcelona, then takes you through the Sobrarbe region and the Pyrenean foothills. The town of Boltaña will be your base for three nights. After that, you’ll spend two nights in a beautifully restored historic hotel in the ancient town of Alquézar. Activities en-route to the mountains from Barcelona include a visit to an incredible mountaintop monastery, and wine tasting in the Somontano wine district.
You will travel to the higher ranges of Aragón, immersed in the landscapes, culture and science behind the origin of these spectacular mountains. You will visit medieval villages, cathedrals and mountain communities, and trace the path of the famous pilgrims’ way: the Camino de Santiago. Before your return to Barcelona, there will be time to visit the spectacular landforms of the natural towers at Riglos.
This tour’s activity level is rated as moderate (most walks are <2km, but a few are 3-4km). There is an optional longer walk along part of the Camino de Santiago. Transport will be in a comfortable vehicle suited to the number of attendees.
Useful details about your guided geology tour of the Pyrenees:
- Start / finish: Your tour starts and finishes in Barcelona, Spain.
- Activity Level: Moderate (view our activity level definitions). The tour will include three walks of 3 to 4km (2.4 to 3.2 miles) as well as several walks of under 1.6km (1 mile). Elevations are between 50–1,000m (165–3,280 feet).
- Transport: We will use a comfortable coach suited to the number of attendees.
- Weather: Autumn weather in Aragon is generally good with warm conditions during the day (18–28°C/65–82°F) and cool at night (10–18°C/50–65°F), although changeable weather conditions should be anticipated, with rain possible.
- Accommodation: We will spend one night in Hotel Casa Elliot, Barcelona, three nights in Hotel Revestido, Escalona and two nights at the historic Villa de Alquézar in Alquézar. See details of the hotels in the Need to Know tab.
Where you will visit…
Explore Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city, with attractions ranging from the iconic Sagrada Familia Cathedral to galleries of modern and historic art, and everything in-between. Gather in the evening to meet your Tour Expert and the rest of the group, followed by drinks, dinner and a review of the trip ahead.
Check into the Hotel Casa Elliot.
- Overnight Barcelona
- Group dinner
Your first stop will be Montserrat, an iconic and distinctive mountain, important to Catalan culture and with geological significance. Here you will visit the lavish mountaintop monastery, which dates to 1025 CE, and take the funicular to see magnificent views of the surrounding region. The spectacular cliffs were created by the formation and erosion of the Pyrenees during continental collision.
You will then move to the vineyards of Somontano and visit a bodega for a winery tour, tasting and an overview of local Spanish wine.
The next stop is a view of the Monasterio de Torreciudad, the seat of Opus Dei, a Catholic sect founded in 1928 and controversially portrayed in The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. It’s an excellent location from which to observe and discuss the evolution of the Pyrenees, and appreciate the colossal forces that led to nearly 100km (62 miles) of crustal shortening. These geological upheavals also provided natural locations for dams built after the Civil War, not without controversy and cost to local populations.
Lunch will be taken en route, after which you will pass by Abizanda and its spectacular examples of medieval architecture.
In the late afternoon, you will arrive in the village of Boltaña, in sight of the towering mountains of the axial zone of the Pyrenees . Onto Escalona, your base for the next three nights.
- Overnight in Hotel Revestido, Escalona
- Group dinner
Your day begins with a visit to the village of Santa María del Buil. There is an optional short walk to the viewpoint above the village – a 3km (2 miles) round trip with an ascent of 80m (260 ft). From above, we’ll take in views of the Axial Zone of the Pyrenees to the north, including the distinctive peaks of Las Tres Marias and Monte Perdido (the Pyrenees’ third highest mountain), and a superb view of the Boltaña Anticline, a famous geological structure that shows how mountain building compresses and folds once-flat rock layers.
Back in the village, we will visit the church where a photo exhibition reveals early 20th-century village life, and will discuss the use of local building stones, formed from massive gravity-driven submarine flows from local mountain ranges. Some of these building stones are packed with beautiful, small fossil shells, called nummulites.
We will have a picnic lunch at Guaso, a picturesque village with panoramic views. The bell tower is a useful landmark for orientation as we explore the village and its surroundings, including stone-wall-terraced slopes with stunning rows of ancient olive trees.
Next is a visit to the nearby Campodarbe to observe one of the geological secrets of the Pyrenees. We will see how to ‘read the rocks’ and uncover the story of the drowning of a carbonate platform back in deep time: a superbly exposed rock contact records the onset of the sinking into the deepwater and shows the origins of the Pyrenees.
Finally, we will explore the medieval town of Aínsa, a major city of the ancient kingdom of Aragón and a magnificent example of medieval urban development. We will regroup for drinks and a group meal in Aínsa’s atmospheric medieval square.
- Hotel: In Escalona
- Group dinner in the old town of Aínsa
Today you focus on the spectacular scenery and geology of the Aínsa area. The Aínsa basin provides excellent examples of preserved deepwater rocks deposited by submarine flows driven by gravity as the Pyrenees formed.
The day begins with an optional walk (4km/2.5 miles round trip with a climb of 210m/690 ft) above the village of Samitier to visit an ancient hermitage perched on a limestone ridge. This vantage point has a view of the entire Aínsa region, key landmarks and geological structures and, on a clear day, the high Pyrenees. There are dramatic views of the Mediano reservoir and dam, where you can see the top of the bell tower of the flooded village of Mediano – a poignant reminder of the human cost of development.
We will then “zoom in” to several more locations to examine the architecture of the ancient Aínsa basin. This will include recognising ancient submarine channels, and discussing how these migrated around the sea floor.
As a welcome break, we’ll lunch in Escalona midway through the day, before exploring additional places of interest in Aínsa over the afternoon.
Links between the geology and the history of the area will be made throughout the day, from the location of dams and fortified towns, to the specific rock types and their different uses as building materials.
Rounding off the day, we’ll travel to the village of San Vicente to visit a beautiful Romanesque church, before an evening with local history expert Angel Cheliz to discover the history of Sobrarbe; or an optional viewing of The Way, a film depicting modern day travellers along the historic Camino de Santiago path.
- Hotel: In Escalona
- Group dinner
This morning, a westward route will be taken through the Ara River gorge that cuts through another classical geological feature of the Pyrenees: the Boltaña Anticline, formed of folded rock layers where the now near-vertical strata provides a natural location for dam and reservoir construction. You will view the abandoned village of Janovás and discuss the social implications of industrialisation.
Continuing towards Jaca, you will traverse the western extremity of the Parque de Ordesa, through stunning scenery and mountain communities. In Sarvise, there will be a brief stop at the Bal de Broto to visit a local artisan cheese maker to view the main factory room with an explanation of the cheese-making operation, while sampling some of their unique Pyrenean cheese.
In Jaca, we will have lunch and, time permitting, will visit the local cathedral, where you can obtain Camino de Santiago “passports” – originally the letter of safe-conduct given to pilgrims in the Middle Ages.
After lunch, the tour continues westward, with spectacular views and an optional stop at Fuente de Torrijos, where the group can review the signs of submarine processes essential to the development of the mountain belt.
The day’s final stop will be at the famous Mallos de Gallego natural towers near Riglos. These astonishing rock towers and cliffs are formed from resistant pebble beds (conglomerates) that rise up to 300m (1,000 ft) above the Ebro Plain.
Your hotel in the area will be the charmingly-restored Villa de Alquézar, sitting comfortably on the edge of Sierra y Cañones de Guara Natural Park.
- Check into Villa de Alquézar, Alquézar
- Free evening
The day begins with a pleasant walk along Alquézar’s scenic Ruta de Pasarelas, whose paths and spectacular catwalks overlook the River Vero canyon. This will be followed by a vineyard tour and lunch at the Bodega Viñas del Vero.
We then travel on to an overlook of the Sierra de Guara Park and later return to Alquézar, where there will be more time for an exploration of the town.
- Hotel: Villa de Alquézar, Alquézar
- Final group dinner, at Casa Pardiña
In the morning, the group will depart by coach for Barcelona Airport, or you can be dropped off in central Barcelona if you want to continue your visit. Alternatively, if you prefer to travel on to Madrid, you may take a train from nearby Huesca (a 45-minute taxi ride from Barbastro).
Note: If required for reasons beyond our control, GeoCultura reserves the right to substitute alternative accommodation of equal or higher quality or adapt the itinerary if required.
Double room for single occupancy is £398.
Your tour starts and finishes in Barcelona, Spain.
The activity level is rated as MODERATE, requiring a fair level of fitness (view our activity level definitions). The tour will include three moderate walks (3km / 2 miles on day 3, 4km / 2.5 miles on day 4 and 3km /2 miles on day 6, with 80m / 260 ft, 210m / 690 ft and 160m /520 ft elevation gains, respectively). Elevations are between 50–1,000m (165–3,280 ft).
Please note, some paths will be uneven and loose underfoot so sturdy footwear is required.
Transport will be in a comfortable vehicle suited to the number of guests.
Autumn weather in Aragon is generally good with warm conditions during the day (18–28°C/65–82°F) and cool at night (10–18°C/50–65°F), although changeable weather conditions should be anticipated, with rain possible.
The tour includes:
- The services of your tour expert(s), who will be with the group throughout the tour, providing pre-visit briefings, walking seminars and available to answer questions.
- A tour leader, who will attend to logistical matters, oversee the group’s health and safety and assist with queries.
- All transportation costs from the start to the end of the tour, including the services of a professional coach driver.
- All accommodation costs for the nights stated, assuming double occupancy rooms. Single occupancy rooms are generally available for a surcharge. Please contact GeoCultura for details.
- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners, except for the one dinner marked “free evening”.
- Entry fees, local guide fees and activity fees, where arranged as part of the tour.
- Most gratuities and all service charges.
The tour excludes:
- Travel insurance. Guests should carry their own health and travel insurance.
- Alcoholic drinks with meals are not included.
- Optional activities as described in the tour itinerary or extra activities that are not described in the itinerary.
- Personal expenditures, including bar bills, laundry bills, and the cost of meals on one free evening.
- Transportation to the start venue or from the end venue of the tour (air fares are not included).
- Passport and visa fees.
For those who may not wish to join the longer walks, there are options to relax in Aínsa including: an afternoon visit to the local Monastery Hotel Spa (built around the ruins of an 11th-century monastery), and an outing to the GeoParque and Naturaleza Museums in Aínsa. There are various options for visits to outlying villages or short hikes in the evenings and our Tour Leaders will be happy to discuss alternative arrangements with you where they fit with the itinerary.
The Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and its Silent Past (2006), Giles Tremlett
Roads to Santiago (1992), Cees Noteboom
The Battle for Spain (1989), Antony Beevor
The Sun Also Rises (1926), Ernest Hemmingway
Night 1: Hotel Casa Elliot, Barcelona
A boutique hotel with just 38 rooms in a building full of history in central Barcelona, which combines elegance, modernity and comfort.
Nights 2-4: Hotel Revistido, Escalona
Decorated in mountain style and at the foot of the Peña Montañesa, in the heart of the Aragonese Pyrenees and at the gates of the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park.
Nights 5-6: Villa de Alquézar, Alquézar
A restored historic building in the heart of the village, Villa de Alquézar is full of traditional decoration, welcoming staff and includes garden and lounge areas to relax and read.
Note: If required for reasons beyond our control, GeoCultura reserves the right to substitute alternative accommodation of equal or higher quality or adapt the itinerary if required.
Deposit: A deposit of 10% of the tour price is due upon registration for a tour.
Final payment: Full payment is due 60 days before a tour begins, or upon registration if within the 60-day window.
Cancellation by participant: A participant may cancel a registration after securing a confirmed place on a tour for any reason. The following refund terms will apply:
- Greater than 60 days before tour begins: Any monies paid plus half of the deposit will be refunded
- 30 to 59 days before tour begins: 35% of tour price will be refunded
- 15 to 29 days before tour begins: 25% of tour price will be refunded
- Within 14 days of tour or during the tour: No monies will be refunded
Cancellation by GeoCultura: GeoCultura reserves the right to cancel any tour due to low enrolment, inability to run the tour or concerns about the safety, health or welfare of participants. If a tour is cancelled before it begins, all monies paid will be refunded (including any deposit).
Please refer to our Terms and Conditions page for additional details.
Your tour leader
Henry S Pettingill
Henry S Pettingill has homes in Texas, and in Aínsa, Spain and is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic expert, linking Spanish geology, landscapes and local culture. Henry manages his own geological consultancy, and is a Senior Associate at Rose & Associates LLP.
His home in Spain is in an area of outstanding landscapes that is a world-class destination for examining geology and Henry has been leading groups through Aínsa for many years. The town (not necessarily the home!) is on the itinerary of the Aragon tour Henry leads for GeoCultura.
Henry has been a professional geologist since 1983. One of his more recent job titles was Director of Business Innovation, where he was responsible for looking into the future to discern upcoming trends. The “outside the box” thinking required for this role led Henry to develop a training course on “Creativity and Innovation”, where participants discover that these are skills that can be learned.
The conglomeratic Mallos de Riglos in Aragon, Spain
The Boltaña anticline, Pyrenees, Spain.
Salon in the Hotel Villa de Alquezar, Spain.
Peña Montañesa over Áinsa, Spain.
Testimonials
The Geology of the Pyrenees, Spain | Nick C, September 2024
Having now been on two GeoCultura tours I would recommend them to anyone with an interest in finding out about geology.
The tour leader and his assistant were great. I cannot emphasise how good the tour leaders on both tours have been. It is what has made the tours for me. Their knowledge and the ability to impart it to someone who is not a geologist and make it understandable has been amazing. After all I come on these tours to be educated.
The meals were spectacularly good.
The Geology of the Pyrenees, Spain | Paul W, September 2024
The Geology of the Pyrenees, Spain | Penny R, September 2024
The Geology of the Pyrenees, Spain | Lisbeth C, September 2024
The Geology of the Pyrenees, Spain | Jim M, September 2024
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