Hiking the Vall de Núria, Pyreneesmonkeysandmountains.com /vall-de-nuria-pyrenees

I knew I would like The Vall de Núria (Valley of Núria in English) as soon as I heard that the onlyway to get there was by rack railway or by foot. No roads=bliss/joy/nature (take your pick ofadjectives). What I didn’t realize was how much I would like it.

The Vall de Núria is stunning! And this is coming f rom a girl who grew up near the RockyMountains in Canada, so believe me, I know my mountains!

There are so many hiking trails to choose from but when Simon, also an avid hiker from Wild About Travel, suggestedthat we hike the Old Road (Pel pont de Cremal) back down instead of taking the train, I didn’t hesitate. The scenery ofthe Vall de Núria is gorgeous but in my opinion is experienced much better while hiking than by train. Isabelle of Diarode a bordo soon joined us. She had done it before but was eager to do it again. We grabbed a quick bite at the self-service restaurant (I would recommend bringing your own lunch) and were off.

There are three variations to the Old Road, but we choose the classic version. It follows the valley for 7.7 km to the

town of Queralbs where we were to catch the train and meet up with the rest of our group. As we did the descentfrom Vall de Núria to Queralbs it was easy hiking and took us about 2:30 hours, faster than the 3:20 hours recommendedhiking time.

The ascent (which we didn’t do) would have been more challenging. It’s over 900m of elevation gain. Theofficial recommended hiking time for the ascent is 3:45, but it could be done faster if you were hiking at a steady pace.

I LOVED hiking the Old Road f rom Vall de Núria to Queralbs! There were views the ENTIRE way. Itwas well signed. Everything you could want in a hike…except that now I want to experience it inwinter… and do more hiking in the Pyrenees!

Know Before You Go to Vall de Núria to Queralbs

Accommodation is available at Vall de Núria.

Vall de Núria is a ski resort in winter (I’m sure it would be even more beautiful when blanketed in snow)

You can catch the rack railway to Vall de Núria from one of 3 places: Ribes-Enlaac, Ribes-Vila or Queralbs

There are numerous hiking trails starting at Vall de Núria (I could have easily spent several days here)

A 1 day package including a return trip on the rack railway, a cable car ride to a peak and a self- service lunch isavailable for 41.35€.

One way train tickets are also available.

Vall de Núria is located just over 100km NW of Girona.

Check the Vall de Núria official website for train times and hiking maps.

See Vall de Núria on Google Maps.

Thank you to the Costa Brava Tourism Board for their hospitality. As always all opinions expressed are my own. I fell inlove with Vall de Núria completely on my own.