Ordesa-Perdido (Pyrenees) 2025
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Day Four. The Breche de Tuquerouye Pass.
We visited the beautiful Cascade du Pla d'Ailhet waterfall and crossed the Breche de Tuquerouye pass to return to Spain. The ascent to the pass follows a steep couloir, with a chain fixed in one section. On the pass, there is an unmanned mountain shelter. We could have spent the night there (no reservation required), but camping down below in the tent was far more pleasant.
The red line shows our track. Shift-click the track link to open it in nakarte.me.
In the morning we climbed out of the little hollow and continued our way. We turned left into the Estaubé valley just before the Lac des Gloriettes reservoir. The green spots are juniper bushes.
The path climbs up the valley towards the famous Cascade du Pla d'Ailhet waterfall, so it was quite busy.
A French bull, completely unfazed by the hikers passing by.
We left our backpacks by a stream and hiked to the waterfall.
We are trying to shelter from the sun. Everyone dipped their feet into the icy water.
The waterfall.
We began the climb back to Spain, heading up towards the pass.
A herd of sheep huddled in the shade of a large rock. Their owner clearly had a sense of humor: each sheep had a blue snowflake painted on its side and a red flower on its tail - very artistic sheep!
On the left, you can see the waterfall; in the center, the Puerto Nuevo de Pineta pass. That's not our route, our climb goes up the couloir to the right.
Ascending to the pass. In one place, there was a fixed metal chain, more useful for the descent than the climb.
Right on the pass there is a small and simple shelter for about ten people. Below us lies the Ibon de Marboré lake, with a magnificent view of Monte Perdido. The water in the lake is as blue as the Côte d'Azur.
The descent to the lake follows a steep scree. The views are breathtaking.
We reached the lake and started looking for a camping spot. There were quite a few people around, but the area is vast. This slope looks almost like a man-made embankment.
This is the pass we came down from. You can see the path and the metal hut right on the saddle.
The water in the lake was freezing cold, but that didn't stop some brave souls from going for a swim.
We happily watched them from the shore.
We found a cosy and picturesque camping spot. It was close to a small stream with fresh running water, everyone came here to fill their bottles.
Sunset.
Our little camp kitchen after dinner: dishes washed, porridge soaking for the morning.
Curious deer watched us from the cliffs.
This rock looks like the profile of a girl.
