Breakfast. Today’s stage runs through the Marcadau and Gaube valleys at the foot of Vignemale (3,298 m). We will visit two emblematic places of the French Pyrenees, Pont d’Espagne (Cauterets), and Lac de Gaube, famous for its turquoise blue waters and the view of the Vignemale. We begin descending the border valley of Marcadau, between lush fir and black pine forests, watercourses and fairytale meadows until we reach the Pont d’Espagne, old frontier, Pyrenean Falla and a spectacle of waterfalls, forests and granite. From here we begin the ascent that takes us to Lac de Gaube along the GR 10 (the trans-Pyrenean one on the French side) through a beautiful forest of black pines, rowan, birch and rhododendron covering the ground. Upon reaching the lake, a pleasant lunch awaits us on the terrace of the restaurant located on the shores of Lake Gaube, L’Hôtellerie du Lac de Gaube, with a panoramic view that we will hardly forget. To continue the day we have to go up the valley through meadows and waterfalls where granite and water are the protagonists. The path finally takes us to the slopes of the magnificent Vignemale and its hanging glaciers, where we will spend the night in the Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube. The views from this refuge are priceless.

Breakfast. We leave France to enter the Aragonese Pyrenees through the cirque del ara, the only great Aragonese river still intact. We leave the Refuge Des Oulettes behind, approaching the impressive glacier and the spectacular wall of the north face of Vignemale, considered one of the largest walls in the Pyrenees. Afterwards, we go up to the Puerto de los Mulos and its great views of the ridges and Circo del Ara, a border crossing that takes us back to Spain. We descend directly to the head of the Ara, a wild valley in its purest form that announces the gates of Ordesa, and we continue walking between streams and torrents towards the south with the Vignemale at our back. After going around the small Ibones de los Batanes that will serve us to refresh ourselves, we cross an area of blocks to reach the Old Port of Brazato and its magnificent views of Panticosa and its three thousand: the Garmo Negro, the Algas and the Argualas. We descend around the lakes directly to the Panticosa Spa, in a long descent although on the right track and enjoying the views. A bath in the Baths of Tiberius awaits us as a reward for the four days already walked. Dinner and accommodation at the Casa de Piedra Refuge.

Breakfast. Today we have a long and uneven stage, but absolutely spectacular: you are going to tour the great lakes of the Tena valley under the Picos del Infierno. A path between rivers, waterfalls and the impressive lakes of Bachimaña, Azules, Tebarray, Liena Cantal and Respomuso and everything between spectacular peaks such as Hells, Piedrafita, Tebarray or Frondiellas. Leaving behind the Balneario de Panticosa we climb the GR11 between large granite blocks and beautiful waterfalls towards the Bachimaña refuge. From Bachimaña we continue to Ibones Azules, a dwelling of three thousand with endless edges like the Picos del Infierno. We continue to gain altitude through a lunar landscape until we reach the Neck of Hell, where we will enjoy one of the most classic lakes of glacial origin: the Ibón de Tebarray and its magnificent basin. From there we cross the lake in the middle of the slope and immediately we reach its hill, the highest point at the height of the 3,000 lakes at 2,765 m. We go down a steep channel that will require special attention, equipped with a cable to facilitate the descent. The descent softens and immediately we arrive at the Ibón de Liena Cantal and its views of the Balaïtous massif and Las Frondiellas, and on its slopes, in the distance, the Respomuso Refuge, the objective of the day. The last section is through a mountain meadow between watercourses and small lakes until reaching the refuge.

Breakfast. The last stage is to enjoy the end of the trek as it deserves. From Respomuso to the Ibones de Arriel under the Great Palas and the Balaïtous, the Col D’Arrémoulit, the last French lakes and, again, the view of the Midi D’Ossau up to Fabrèges. We leave the Respomuso Refuge towards the Ibones de Arriel. From the lakes, we will start a small climb that will take us to Col d’Arrémoulit, a border pass that takes us back to the French side with a superb panoramic view of Balaïtous. We go down from the pass to the Arrémoulit lakes and their refuge that rests integrated into the landscape on the edge of the lake, an obligatory stop to regain strength and take advantage of the refuge’s hospitality. We continue descending a little further from the refuge towards Lake Artouste, but first, we will turn towards Col d’Arrious. From this point, we can deviate a few meters to admire the beautiful Lac d’Arrious, the last lake of the trek. We will have a long descent through the Ruisseau de Arrious to Soques and, by one of the variants of the Camino de Santiago in the Ossau Valley between shepherds’ cabins, lush forests and meadows next to the river, arrive comfortably at the Parking de Fabrèges in the Station from Artouste, starting point and endpoint of this spectacular trekking.