4.5km to Urdos, Col du Somport 14 km: Canfran Estacion 7 km
Text from the brochure
The elevation from Oloron Saint Marie to the Col du Somport (1420 m/4659 ft) is higher than the climb between St Jean Pied de Port and Roncesvalles (1304 m/4278 ft.). The difference though is that you climb it over three days instead of one or two days. Most of that elevation climb is from Borce, which is at 643m/ 2109ft. You have a choice of 2 routes from Borce. You can either walk along the valley-side path through the woods that hide much of the magnificent mountain scenery of the upper Aspe Valley, which is better seen from the road (14 km), or you can stay on the RN134 above Urdos (16 km) which is fairly quiet with little traffic other than buses. In bad weather the road is definitely recommended. Also bear in mind that the weather can change quickly. Besides deciding on the valley path or the road, today you have some choices regarding distances.
1. You can walk from Borce to the Somport Pass 18.5 km where you will be met by Alfonso Navarro who will take you down to his Casa ‘Le Tuca’ where we will stay in Canfranc Estacion for two nights.
2. You can get a bus from Estaut, which is on the other side of the highway from Borce, to Urdos and walk to the pass or to Canfranc from there. Time table at http://car.aquitaine.fr/91-les-horaires.html
Walking from From Borce:
The path from Borce to Urdos is not particularly difficult but it is relentlessly uphill from here to the Pass. There is no official GR from Borce to Urdos and the way continues along the N134 for 2.5 km through a gorge so take care. Urdos is the last stop before we reach the Col de Somport on the border with Spain. This is a long frontier village straddling the road where the valley widens out – it has a hotel, grocery, post office and buses. NB – no supplies after Urdos until Somport.
The path climbs steadily up along a good dirt trail and passes through forest and lush green fields with cattle and sheep. You might hear the cow and sheep bells in the distance.
If you are on the road, you will pass the intriguing Fort du Portalet- a fort, built between 1842 to 1870. The fort, built by order of Louis Philippe I, guards the border of the Pyrenees and protects access to the Col du Somport. Fort du Portalet is located on a cliff face underneath the Chemin de la Mâture (literally "The Mast Road") ... and circles a large, man-made lake with rather strange teal coloured water. After the ruined Auberge de Peilhou, the mountains sides close in.
At Les Forges d’Abel after another 3 km is the mouth of the Somport tunnel. The road winds and climbs more steeply for 4 km and then follows the edge of the plateau for 3 km before the final ascent to the Col du Somport, the border between France and Spain at a over 1600 m. Now we can officially cross into Spain and you are officially on the Camino Aragones. There is an albergue and a bar to buy refreshments. On the rocks above is a modern statue of a pilgrim and ermita del Pilar, a small shrine erected in 1995.
From the summit at the Puerto de Somport, the GR 65.3 (no longer the GR 653) descends steeply to Canfranc Estación on a path above and parallel with the E7 and the valley of the river Aragon. You can also walk on the road which is well marked with yellow arrows and red and white way markers (GR65.3). Just below the Puerto and before the Puente de Santa Cristina, via some steps and a beaten path, you will come to the ruins of the Santa Cristina pilgrim hospice mentioned in the 12th century Liber Sancti Jacobi (Book of St James) that flourished as one of the most important hospitals in medieval times built during the reign of Pedro I. You will also pass the village of Candanchu, which is the oldest and most attractive winter sports resort in the Aragonian Pyrenees. After 3.2 km from Somport, you pass a bunker on the left and thereafter reach an isolated chimney at 1400m. The bunker was one in a line of bunkers built 1944-59 to protect against possible invasion from north of Pyrenees, dug by Republican prisoners and soldiers under orders from Franco. The Chimney of Funderia del Anglase is the last relic of industrial complex dating back to C16th.
Canfranc Estación grew around a neoclassic International Railway Station designed by Spanish architect Fernando Ramírez de Dampierre and built in the 1927 (filmed in Doctor Zhivago), which operated until 1970. The village is dominated by this huge railway station and hotel which was built to service the rail line between France and Spain. Opened in 1928, the line closed in 1970 following the collapse of a major viaduct on the French part of the line. All facilities are available at Canfranc Estación
The images below are in the wrong order.
Canfranc station. Crazy history
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