> Enjoy the Catalonian Pyrenees and walk from hut to hut
> Spend your nights in cozy mountain huts
> Cover over 65 kilometres and over 3,500 altitude metres
There are a lot of opportunities for hiking in the Spanish Pyrenees, but does it get any better than the Carros de Foc? To be fair, it's also one of the best-known multi-day hut-to-hut hikes in the area. Rather obvious, because with 65 kilometers, over 3,500 meters of elevation gain, and 9 welcoming huts, an epic adventure awaits you on the Carros de Foc. Hiking in, quite a mouthful, Parc Nacional d'Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici doesn't get any better than this. Are you ready to discover the wild and adventurous side of Catalonia?
Carros de Foc is Catalan for Chariots of Fire and although no one knows why the trek carries this curious name, we dig it. The route was created in 1987 when the caretakers of the refuges in Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici Park decided to visit each other's huts, resulting in a beautiful circular hike, connecting all the mountain huts, "Refugi" in Catalan, in the area.
During this 8-day adventure, where you will walk from hut to hut for 6 days, you'll start and finish in Espot. You will walk high into the mountains, along the way you will encounter many natural highlights. You will spend your nights in cozy mountain huts, where you will meet other hikers and can enjoy breakfast, dinner and a picnic lunch. We have selected multiple mountain huts to spend the night, based on the length of the daily stage. During your daily walks, you will pass some of the other huts. Before and after the trek, you'll stay in a hotel in Espot to enjoy a relaxed start and finish to the trip.
This stage is one long climb, gaining 1,030 m from the start to the hut with no meaningful descent. The first section follows an asphalted road before the route continues onto forest paths. If you want to make the start a little easier, you can shorten the first kilometres by taking a taxi. The first part feels controlled and steady, with easier ground through the forest and a gradual rise that lets you find your rhythm. The highest point is reached near 2,340 m, so treat this as a demanding climb rather than a warm-up. The character of the route changes clearly as you go higher.
After the asphalted start, you continue on relatively easy forest paths, gaining height without much technical difficulty underfoot. After about 4.8 km, the trail changes to boardwalks and bridge sections, giving the route a different feel while the climb continues. At around 7.5 km, you reach the first lake. Follow the water for roughly 800 m and take your time here, especially if the surface is calm enough for reflections across the lake.
After about 8.3 km, the route bends right and the climb becomes more serious. Boardwalks return, but the terrain gradually turns rougher, rockier and more uneven, so sturdy footing matters. Around Lake Ratera, the route eases for a while, giving you space to slow down and enjoy the view. Beyond the lake, a steeper section leads past two small sister lakes before the final approach opens into broader mountain terrain.
The last stretch to the hut feels more remote, with open ground, wide views and continued rocky terrain underfoot. Arrive steadily rather than rushing the final climb, then settle in at the mountain hut after a full uphill effort.
You continue across the same broad, open terrain as the previous section, moving over rocky ground and occasional rubble fields. Our app is useful here, especially where the path is less obvious among stones and slabs. After about 2.8 km, a small lake makes a good place for a short break. From there, keep right and begin descending into a wide, almost moonlike landscape that feels remote and quiet.
Near Lago de Naut, the descent becomes more hands-on, with a short scrambling section where you may need to use your hands for balance. After this, the route gives you an easier stretch, with around 2 km of flatter walking and very little climbing or descending. After a total of about 5.1 km, you pass Saboredo Regue in the middle of this flatter valley before the path starts climbing again towards Tuc Gran de Sedrosa.
The route does not go all the way to Tuc Gran de Sedrosa, but after the climb the descent becomes slightly more technical again. Prepare for a short T3 section. The final kilometres lead past a few more beautiful mountain lakes and across the rocky, uneven terrain that you have likely grown accustomed to over the past two days on the Carros de Foc. Before long, you arrive at your next mountain refuge, Refugi Colomèrs, located next to Lake Colomèrs.
You start directly from the lake with a steady climb that gradually becomes steeper. It is worth looking back early on for the panorama behind you before the route turns rougher. With 520 m of ascent over a relatively short distance, this is a compact but active mountain stage. The path moves from greener surroundings into a higher, rockier landscape, where the walking becomes more uneven and you need to keep your rhythm.
After around 3 km, you reach the highest point of the route close to Tuc deth Cap deth Pòrt de Caldes. This is a good place to pause briefly before starting the descent. The open, stony terrain gives the stage a more lunar feel here, with less vegetation and rough ground underfoot. About a kilometre after the high point, one final climb asks for another push before the route settles into a longer descent.
From there, you continue on a T2 path as the surroundings gradually become greener again. Lakes return along the route, and you weave through this quieter landscape towards the mountain hut.
This demanding high mountain route crosses one of the wildest passes of the circuit. From the granite basin around Ventosa i Calvell the path climbs toward a rugged barrier of cliffs and broken rock, then plunges into a remote valley of lakes and waterfalls. The scenery is dominated by the serrated ridges of Pic de Contraix and Pic de Comalesbienes, with long, steep sections that require sure footing and good weather.
From the hut the trail traverses above the shoreline toward the grassy hollow of Pleta de Colieto, then follows a rough path beside the outlet streams to Estany Gran de Colieto. The climb becomes steeper on the Costera de Contraix, zigzagging across loose stone and occasional slabs toward the narrow notch of the Contraix pass. After the final rocky ramp you crest the skyline and look down on the dark waters of Estany de Contraix far below.
From the pass a demanding descent on cairned paths leads beside waterfalls and smooth slabs into the valley of La Ribereta. The terrain gradually softens as you pass the Cova dels Pastors and enter fragrant pine forest, with streams tumbling between boulders. A final gentle stretch along the river brings you to the meadows around Estany Llong, where the stone refuge stands in an open clearing, a quiet place to relax and watch the evening light on the surrounding walls.
This stage takes you from Refugi Colomina to the village of Espot. You walk through the granite landscape around the lakes and then descend for most of the day. When you reach Refugi Josep Maria Blanc, you have completed the full circuit. From there, you continue down to Espot.
From Refugi Colomina, the trail follows the slope above Estany de Colomina and Estany Tort. Along the way you have views of Pic de Saburó (2,905 m). After a short, steeper climb to a rocky shoulder, the main descent begins. You pass several small lakes before reaching Estany Negre de Peguera. From here, the route joins the same trail used earlier in the trek. You reach Refugi Josep Maria Blanc in about three hours.
After a short stop at Refugi Josep Maria Blanc, you start the final descent to Espot. The trail goes down in sections over granite slabs and then continues through pine forest, following streams and small waterfalls. You lose more than 1,000 metres in height. Lower down, the path becomes wider and crosses meadows before leading directly into Espot. Well done, you've conquered the Carros de Foc!
