The Crossing of the Three Refuges in the Eastern Pyrenees

The Crossing of the Three Refuges is a fantastic proposal to discover, on foot, unforgettable places in the Eastern Pyrenees.

You will enjoy the abundance of wildlife, beautiful flowers, spectacular gorges, secluded lakes, lush forests and mighty rivers. At the end of each stage you will live the experience of living in guarded shelters where you can regain strength for the next day.

During the journey, there are more than 3,000 meters of unevenness up and down. Those with more strength can complete the days by climbing the most representative peaks in the area: Bastiments, Gra de Fajol, Gallinàs, Torreneules and Puigmal, thus accumulating a total of more than 6,000 meters of unevenness.

To complete the route, you must walk through the mountains for 3 to 6 days, spending the night in the Ull de Ter, Coma de Vaca and Carançà refuges.

• Cumulative climb - 3,000+ m
• Time - From 3 to 6 days.
• Difficulty - Medium - High
• Path - GR-11 and yellow stripes
• Departure point - Setcases

Next, we detail the stages of the route. Check the map of the journey here.

Setcases - Ulldeter's Refuge

Path marked with red and white stripes (GR-11). From the picturesque town of Setcases we will go up the Ter valley. When we arrive at Pla de la Molina, we will leave the Coma del Orri valley on our left. One kilometer from the Vallter 2000 ski resort, we will find a sign indicating the Ulldeter refuge. Following the path up and about 20 minutes later, we will arrive at the refuge where we will be rewarded with the beautiful view of the north face of the Gra de Fajol.

• Time: 3 hours
• Elevation gain: + 1000m.

Ulldeter Refuge - Ras de Carançà Refuge (Bacivers Valley)

From the Ulldeter refuge, we follow the red and white lines of the GR-11 to the Col de la Marrana. We leave the GR-11 and head north to find the pass between Pico de Bastiments and Pico de la Dona.

The view from the Collado del Gigante rewards us for the effort. We will leave the lonely lakes of Bacivers and go down the valley until we find the GR-10 (red and white stripes). In a few minutes, we will arrive at the bucolic place where the Ras de Carançà refuge is located.

• Time: 3 hours
• Elevation gain: + 400m, -800m.

Ras de Carançà - Cow Coma

From the Ras de Carançà refuge, we enter the forest to go up the Carançà river. Further on, we find the beautiful lakes of Carançà under the domain of Pico del Infierno. At the end of the valley we arrive at the Carançà pass where we will cross the GR-11 (red and white markings).

We continue south through a fairly straight lunchbox at its beginning. Now the path is marked with red dots. We go down the lonely valley of Coma de Vaca with the river on our right. At the end of the valley we reach the Freser river, where we find the Coma de Vaca refuge.

• Time: 5 hours
• Elevation gain: + 1000m., -800m.

Cow Coma - Ulldeter

Path marked with red and white stripes (GR-11.7). From the Coma de Vaca refuge, we will go up the bucolic Freser valley accompanied by marmots, chamois and other neighbors. When we reach the rain gauge, we will leave the bottom of the valley and go up the slopes to the east until we reach the Col de la Marrana. From this point we can see the Vallter 2000 ski resort below and the Canigó in the background. We will go down towards the east until we reach the Ulldeter refuge (GR-11).

• Time: 3 hours
• Elevation gain: + 500m, -300m

Source: Setcases Town Hall