We continue with our plan outdoor tourism, under the sky, in contact with nature and between mountains. Today it is the turn of the Forest of Oza, a space that is located within the La Jacetania Western Valleys Natural Park.
It's a cool destination to do hiking, climbing, paragliding or skiing in the coming winter. How about? Let's learn more about the Selva de Oza.
Selva de Oza and La Jacetania
La Jacetania is in Aragon, between Zaragoza and Huesca, in Spain. The Atlantic Pyrenees are the natural border with France and its highest peak here is 2886 meters high, therefore, skiing shines and we find one of the oldest ski resorts in Spain, if not the oldest.
The Natural Park of the Western Valleys of La Jacetania was founded in December 2006 and as we said at the beginning, inside is the Selva de Oza. Actually the whole area is worth a visit because it is charming. You can aim to get to know the town of Hecho, Siresa and its monastery and from there you begin to enter the Selva de Oza, between mountains and denser forests.
If you go by car you can park it in any of the three parking spaces what is there and from there see what type of excursions You can do it according to the climate that reigns in your visit. One, the first, is in the Pyrenean Megalithic Interpretation Center, the second is in the Ramiro el Monje camp and the last is on the Guarriza track.
In these three sites you can choose between several routes. For example, in the first one, one of the recommended routes is the one that follows the old roman road that crosses the Boca del Infierno gorge, a beautiful canyon. The route itself is shaped like a circle and covers a total of twelve kilometers.
In the case of the second parking lot you can follow the Peña Forcá and Estribiella route that merges into a grove of pine, beech and fir. It is worth climbing a bit, about two kilometers, because you reach a beautiful meadow with great views of the massif rincón de Alanao and Peña Forcá.
And lastly, if you decide to go to the last parking lot, you can take two roads, one on the right and one on the left.
If you take the one on the right you will reach the path that goes to Aguas Tuertas Valley and Ibbon de Estanés, with little more than kilometers and a half in length. You have a relatively simple first three kilometers and after the Aguas Tuertas Valley, if you continue for five more kilometers and cross it, you will reach Ibon de Estanés. If you take the one on the left, there is a five-kilometer uphill path that takes you right to Ibon.
The entire area is a special site for climbers but actually if you are not you can also have fun. For example, there is the Oza Forest and its zip lines and balancing games. It is located in the middle of a forest of beech, pine and fir trees and there is not a single route but eight with different difficulties, all together to the river. And there are for children, with jumpers, special zip lines and other games, and for adults or children over nine years of age with high platforms, long zip lines, rabosa, splinter and paniquesa of different heights.
Remember that around here the peaks are more than two thousand meters high and among them there are shepherd's refuges, locally called borders, but that you can take advantage of to stop to eat. And there is still excursions what can you do.
For example, you can go to know the Traces of Neolithic men in Aguastuertas, 1600 meters high. You arrive from the Selva de Oza crossing the Guarrinza Valley and you will even see the dolmen that they left there five thousand years ago. Luckily it is not the only megalithic ruin around here, as archaeologists have already found 80, many in the same area.
Although the first dolmen is near the Ramiro el Monje camp There are others in the Crown of the Dead, a higher place, stone circles that are between seven and five thousand years old, for example. There are also four more between the Casa de la Mina and the El Barcal ravine, more than 1200 meters away. There are also burial mounds, the Camón de las Fitas, with a corridor. They seem magical.
As you can see, the Oza jungle offers varied and interesting things. The trekking, Obviously, it's the order of the day so you can go through the call Camille's Path, studded with spectacular scenery and views of the highest peaks in the area. If you like it a lot, I'll tell you that the entire trip is six days, it passes to the French side and luckily it has shelters all along.
Oh, and don't forget the towns that you can visit before arriving at the Selva de Oza proper: Done and Siresa. At Done you arrive on the A-176 road that runs parallel to the Aragón river. It is a small and picturesque place, with little stone streets and houses with tiles.
You arrive to Siresa by following the same route and the most important thing is its old monastery which is as large as that of the Jaca Cathedral. It is from the XNUMXth century and its church is simple but beautiful.
To finish, if your thing is really more climbing than walking, there are websites in Spanish that speak specifically about these journeys, the via ferrata, types, their degrees of technical difficulty, state, type of route and others. Check before you go to arrive prepared. And if your thing is not just walking between mountain peaks and trees, under the open sky, alone, as a couple or with children, then do not stop going the same way.