(Keywords: Treking - Europe, Spain)
Catalonia Pyrenees
Featuring:Cavalls del Vent (Wind's Horses)
Cavalls
del vent is a mountain trip presented as eight stages between each of the
mountain huts located in the Central Catalan Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain.
The altitude of the trek ranges from 910 metres up to 2510 metres, with an accumulated height of some 10.000 metres and a distance of around 97 km.
You can do the adventure by yourself, reserving the beds to spend the night in each hut or by means of the organization that controls the route. The official trek has 3 modalities : Finish the trek under 24 hours , under 36 hours or "Trek at leisure". (The record is 9h20m).
Click on the binoculars to see a screenshot of Google Earth displaying the mountain pass below Niu de l'Aliga with a fantastic view of Cerdanya (North Catalonia). GoogleEarth_Image.jpg (Approx. 147 KB) opens in a new window.
GPS Maps
- Download the free GPS Map in GPS eXchange (.gpx) file format, which can be read and transferred to your GPS using free software. (The .gpx file will appear in a new window where you can File > Save as... on your computer)
GPS Map Details
File Name: pyrenees.gpx (88KB)
Class A Data
Waypoints: Thirteen (13) points of interst, inlcuding trailheads, vistas,
and camps:
-
St. Lluis Estasen
- Gressolet
- St. Jordi
- Rebost
- Niu de l'Aguila
- Serrat de les Esposes
- Cortals de Ingla
- Prats d'Aguilo
- Parking
- Empedrats
- Coma floriu
- Pas dels Gasolans
- Penyes Altes
Routes/Tracks:
-
Day 1 - St Lluis Estasen to St. Jordi
- Day 2 - St. Jordi to Niu de l'Aguila
- Day 3 - Niu de l'Aguila to Cortals de Ingla
- Day 4 - Cortals de Ingla to St. Lluis Estasen
More Info
The adventure was made using 4 days instead the official recommendation of 8 days. Better to take some time to contemplate the beautiful views when you are at the top of mountains. If you do the trek in official 8 days, the time spend from one refuge to another could take from 3 to 5 hours. When you arrive to each hut, you can do small trips around them. Information is provided at each hut. You may begin your trek at any of the following refuges that are accessible by car: St Lluís Estasen, Gressolet, Cortals de l'Ingla, or Serrat de les Esposes.
For even more information on reservations and trail conditions, visit:
http://www.cavallsdelvent.com/
Adventure Travel Tip
During the months of the summer, some huts can be full, reserve in advance, and it is not recommended to try the route at winter time.
References
Special
thanks to Lluís Gesa Boté, engineer, hiking enthusiasts, and developer of
eGPStrack.software. To acquire GPS data for this trek, Lluís used a Nokia
6230i, running eGPStrack software with a external Xaiox wonde-x bluetooth
GPS-Receiver. Visit the eGPStrack web site at:
