Page 180 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

178  NOR THERN SP AIN REGION B Y REGION

times. The valley offers good
views of the peak of Castillo de
Macher. Walking trips can be
made to Selva de Oza, with its
striking array of Atlantic flora,
as well as to other places amid
the mountain landscape.
The largest village in the valley
is Hecho, which has a sculpture
garden left from an open-air
festival. Some 2 km (1 miles)
north of Hecho lies the bucolic
village of Siresa. It is home to
Road through the verdant Valle de Ansó, lined with craggy peaks an interesting Romanesque-
Gothic church – San Pedro
1 Sos del Rey Veral river, it features an amazing (1082) – which was once part
Católico diversity of flora and fauna. of a monastery founded in the
Walking between the vertical 9th century by Count Aznar
Zaragoza. Road Map C5. * 700. crags, you might encounter Galíndez. The shrine soon
n Plaza de la Hispanidad 1; 948 88
85 24. 8 organized by the tourist capercaillie, fallow deer and became the region’s spiritual
squirrels. When exploring the
capital, and in 922 the monastery
office. ( Fri. _ San Esteban (3rd
Wed in Aug). valley on foot, stop at the village was made the see of Aragón.
of Ansó, 860 m (2,821 ft) above
Sos del Rey Católico is one sea level. Because of its
of the Cinco Villas – location and difficult 4 Puerto de
a group of five accessibility, it has Somport
picturesque towns always been quite
granted priv ileges isolated, which has Huesca. Road Map C5. n Plaza
by Philip V for their led to the villagers Ayuntamiento 1 (Canfranc); 974 37
loyalty during the retaining their tradi- 31 41. ∑ canfranc.es
War of the Spanish tional customs and
Succes sion at the crafts. On the last On the French border, at the
beginning of the 18th Sunday in August, head of a long valley (Valle de
century, which ended Coat-of-arms, Sos del Rey a huge fiesta takes Canfranc) that runs down to
in victo ry for the Católico town hall place here, and Jaca, the Puerto de Somport
Bourbons (see p45). local people wear (Somport Pass) is one of the
The town owes its name to traditional costumes resembling most historic crossing points in
King Fernando of Aragón, the medieval attire. the Pyrenees. The pass was used
“Catholic King”, who was born by the Romans and medieval
here in 1452 (see p44). The pilgims, and takes its name from
Palacio de Sada, his reputed 3 Valle de Hecho the Latin Summus Portus.
birthplace, was built on the Huesca. Road Map C5. * 960. The pass marks the start of the
ruins of an old castle and n 974 37 50 02 (winter), 974 37 55 05 Aragonese pilgrimage route to
features an 18th- century (summer). ∑ valledehecho.es Santiago de Compostela, which
chapel. Also worth a visit are the is older than the more famous
15th-century Gothic town hall The stone villages of the green route through Navarra. The
and, at the top of the town, the Hecho valley are characterized Aragonese route leads through
11th-century Iglesia de San by red-roofed stone houses, Canfranc, Villanúa, Jaca, San Juan
Esteban, with beautiful carved typical of the Pyrenees. The de la Peña and Santa Cruz de
capitals, a Romanesque font, people here speak the local Serós, joining the Navarrese route
and 13th-century frescoes in dialect called cheso, virtually in Yesa. The pass, on which stands
two of the crypt apses. unchanged since early medieval a small chapel with a figure of
St James, was a crossing
point for the Romans and
2 Valle de Ansó Moors. Nowadays, the
austere scenery is speckled
Reached via the A176 motorway with holiday apartments
from Puente la Reina. Road Map C5.
n Plaza Domingo Miral 1, Ansó; built for skiing. Astún is
974 37 02 25. the best-organized and
most modern resort,
Covered in beech, fir and pine, while Candanchú in the
the Valle de Ansó rivals the Valle Valle de Canfranc is one
de Hecho as the loveliest valley of Spain’s major winter
in the Pyrenees. Formed by the Stone houses in the village of Hecho sports centres.
For hotels and restaurants see p207 and pp222–3

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