Fontalba o cómo pasar un día increíble con familia en la montaña

Fontalba - Núria is a perfect excursion for families who love hiking. We will climb between valleys until we reach the sanctuary of the Vall de Núria where we can enjoy its wonderful views and recover energy for the return. You can go back and forth in one morning, but we recommend that you bring lunch and dinner to Núria to get some rest and enjoy the experience. There is a bar-restaurant service, but if you bring lunch in your backpack you will also find picnic tables or if the weather is good you can eat directly sitting on the grass in front of the lake.

The start of this route is from the Fontalba car park, the starting point of the excursion to the summit of Puigmal, among others. To get to Fontalba you have to go up a track of about 11 km that leaves Queralbs and goes up to a small space where you can park. The track is passable by any car (when it is not snowing), as long as it does not take you back a while of bumps and bends along a forest track. Fantastic views of the valley await you when you arrive at the car park. At this point you can observe the flight of several birds of prey, so we strongly advise you to wear binoculars in order to observe them in their full splendor. We will take the narrow path that will be closer to the valley on the right and we will go around it until we enter the forest. First we will go through some waterfalls where it is common to see cattle around, bring the camera ready to immortalize the landscape. Upon entering the forest, if you go in silence, you may come across some deer or marten. Here we leave the sun and enter a darker area. It starts to climb but don't be scared, it's gentle, until we finally go down to Núria.

We recommend that you go well-worn, as the terrain is sandy and rocky, suitable for children aged 5-6. If you are going with children under the age of 4, we recommend that you bring a baby carrier backpack in case they need some support. Don’t neglect sunscreen, hats, food and water. And always check the weather forecast before heading to Fontalba. Anyone who lives there knows how to interpret the weather well enough and will be able to tell you if it is a good day or if it is better to postpone it to avoid headaches. You can also call the Vall de Núria information telephone number where they will inform you of the weather and the capacity forecast for that day at the sanctuary. Once you are in Núria, we recommend that you take a walk around the chairlift that goes to the Cim de l’Àliga, following the track that follows the same path as the chairlift. There you will be able to see several groundhogs' dens and, if you are discreet, you will most likely observe and hear them.

The path is indicated at all times and has no loss. Try it, it's worth it! We've done it several times at home and each time we discover new nooks and crannies. This is a non-circular round trip of about 10km and 400m of elevation gain. We encourage you to take this little route and enjoy it as a family! Post written by Mar Morales