The Pica d’Estats is formed by three peaks formed in a chain that coincides exactly with the border of Occitania, France. The highest is the central peak, which is about 3143 m. Punta Gabarró, on the eastern side, is at 3115, and the Verdaguer peak to the west, about 3131 meters high.
The highest geographical point in all of Catalonia is also the third highest mountain in the Pyrenees. It is located between the borders of France and Spain and has an altitude of 3,143 m. If we continue zooming in on the map, we will find it between the region of Pallars Sobirá and the French department of Ariàge. It belongs to the Montcalm Massif, which is at the end of the Iron Valley and its views overlook the high Vicdessos Valley.
It is a beautiful landscape, breathtaking views that can be enjoyed both on foot and by car, without the need to be an expert mountaineer level. A perfect getaway to try this fall and enjoy the mountain.
A high mountain route
The most common routes are two: one on the southern slope, the other on the northern slope. In the first case, it starts from Areu and takes the road through Vall de Ferrera passing through the Port de Sotllo (at 2,894 meters above sea level). From here, you have to go to the French side down a few meters to the Cometa pond.
At this point, we will have to continue the path of the north slope from the Riufret neck. The trail is completed in about 6 or 7 hours with about 1,500 meters of elevation gain.
The path from the north is all marked with yellow route markers. It will go through Riufret but starting from the Pinet refuge, in Marc. It takes three hours to reach the refuge, to which we will have to add almost four hours to reach the Pica d’Estats. A regular climb but quite steep.
On this slope, the next stop after the refuge is the Pond of Montcalm, at the bottom of whose valley is the pond d’Estats, which can be seen from above. The end of the route will be along a series of ponds, until reaching a pass that joins Montcalm with Estats. The access from here to the three peaks, has no special difficulty.
How to get there by car
The road to take will be the C-13 from Sort, a town in the region of Pallars Sobirá, until arriving at Llavorsí, where we will change to the L-510 towards Ainet de Besan and Alins. Alins is the nearest town hall (973 624 405).
We will skip the road that goes up to Ribera de Cardós and Tavascán and continue on the L-510 until the end: Areu and Força de Areu. After these villages the asphalt ends and the road that continues will be a dirt track along which we will continue for 12 km. more.
We will arrive at the Molinassa parking lot after a fairly steep ramp, so low cars will have to be careful. Another option, if the car is not suitable, is to continue the three-hour walk from Areu to the refuge of Vallferrera.