12th-14th July 2019
A Hike Through Spain’s Wild Heart: In Search of the Bearded Vulture
More than a year after moving to Spain, I finally made it to Ordesa National Park, a place I had wished of visiting since I first found out about it.
I went with a friend from the dance community who shared my passion for hiking and nature. We rented a car and left early, ready for a little weekend adventure. The drive itself felt promising: clear skies, mountains rising in the distance, and a feeling of excitement that always comes with heading into nature.
Once we got there, the landscape was even more impressive than I imagined. Ordesa Valley is wide and deep, carved out by glaciers long ago. The towering cliffs, dense green forests, and waterfalls gave it a wild, untamed feeling. Everything looked fresh and vivid in the summer light. We started our hike into the valley, following the main trail that heads toward the Góriz Refuge, a popular stop for multi-day hikers.
We didn’t plan to reach the refuge, but we followed the valley trail deep enough to feel immersed. Then, on the way back, we took a higher path that offered new perspectives of the cliffs and forests below. From up there, the views were stunning... open meadows, pine forests, and the Arazas River weaving through the valley.
What made this trip even more exciting was that I had a personal mission: to find and photograph the bearded vulture (also called lammergeier), one of the rarest vultures in Europe. Ordesa is one of the few places where you can still spot them in the wild. It wasn’t easy, but as we paused in a quieter spot and scanned the sky, we saw one gliding above the cliffs: massive wingspan, reddish tones, and the unmistakable tail shape of this unique bird. Besides the bearded vulture, which was my goal to spot, there were also black vultures, another species very common in Spain. I quickly realized that not all the vultures in the sky were the ones I was after. Spotting the real bearded vulture took patience, but it made the moment even more rewarding.
By the end of the day, we were tired but happy and satisfied. The trail, the views, the wildlife... everything made this trip worth the wait. Ordesa felt like a corner of Spain where nature is still wild and untouched. And for me, it became one of those places I knew I’d return to someday, with a camera in hand and the sky above me.
I went with a friend from the dance community who shared my passion for hiking and nature. We rented a car and left early, ready for a little weekend adventure. The drive itself felt promising: clear skies, mountains rising in the distance, and a feeling of excitement that always comes with heading into nature.
Once we got there, the landscape was even more impressive than I imagined. Ordesa Valley is wide and deep, carved out by glaciers long ago. The towering cliffs, dense green forests, and waterfalls gave it a wild, untamed feeling. Everything looked fresh and vivid in the summer light. We started our hike into the valley, following the main trail that heads toward the Góriz Refuge, a popular stop for multi-day hikers.
We didn’t plan to reach the refuge, but we followed the valley trail deep enough to feel immersed. Then, on the way back, we took a higher path that offered new perspectives of the cliffs and forests below. From up there, the views were stunning... open meadows, pine forests, and the Arazas River weaving through the valley.
What made this trip even more exciting was that I had a personal mission: to find and photograph the bearded vulture (also called lammergeier), one of the rarest vultures in Europe. Ordesa is one of the few places where you can still spot them in the wild. It wasn’t easy, but as we paused in a quieter spot and scanned the sky, we saw one gliding above the cliffs: massive wingspan, reddish tones, and the unmistakable tail shape of this unique bird. Besides the bearded vulture, which was my goal to spot, there were also black vultures, another species very common in Spain. I quickly realized that not all the vultures in the sky were the ones I was after. Spotting the real bearded vulture took patience, but it made the moment even more rewarding.
By the end of the day, we were tired but happy and satisfied. The trail, the views, the wildlife... everything made this trip worth the wait. Ordesa felt like a corner of Spain where nature is still wild and untouched. And for me, it became one of those places I knew I’d return to someday, with a camera in hand and the sky above me.
