Bardenas Reales (Navarra) · Mont-rebei Gorge · Riglos, Huesca · Aragón
A desert, an impossible gorge and a 300-metre wall of stone — all in one week with the Defender
Def Into The Wild — Destination Aragón
DefIntoTheWild · YouTube
▶ starts at 6:31Watch the original video on YouTubeAragón has a reputation as desert country, and the first kilometres confirm it — loose tracks, dust, and a landscape that punishes anyone in a hurry. But that's just the opening act. This route crosses three landscapes that shouldn't belong in the same trip: a semi-desert biosphere reserve, a canyon carved by a river that literally separates two autonomous communities, and a village crowned by 300-metre rock needles that seem to watch over everything below. The Defender doesn't just reach these places — it strings them into one continuous narrative of stone, water and silence.
This route is built from a real trip filmed by DefIntoTheWild, a French couple who travel Europe in their Defender 130, documenting every track along the way. We've adapted it for 50plus3 as one of our Tier 1 routes. In rural Aragón, the skies are pollution-free and the silence is genuine — the kind of place where you end up improvising a wild camp beside the Defender and grilling beef over a fire because no plan could have been better.
What you'll find
- Bardenas Reales — UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, 4x4 tracks
- Castildetierra — the fairy chimney that symbolizes Bardenas
- Mont-rebei Gorge — walls over 500m, the Aragón-Catalunya border
- 16 km of rock-cut trail, walkways and a suspension bridge
- Mallos de Riglos — Natural Monument, 275m rock needles
- Griffon vultures and fox — wildlife of the gorge and the needles
- Wild camping under light-pollution-free Aragón skies
- Grilled beef (check our Glamping kit), cooked right beside the Defender
On the road
- Duration
- 4 days
- Distance
- 230 km
- Terrain
- Mixed
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Best season
- Spring and autumn
Gallery
Suggested itinerary
Day 1
Bardenas Reales — Castildetierra
Day 1 · 09:00Circular track ~30-36 km, max 30 km/h, authorised tracks only — the information centre in Arguedas has current maps. The first kilometres give nothing away: loose tracks, faded markings, the sense of entering a territory that doesn't care whether you arrive. And then, without transition, the landscape opens: a sea of clay and sandstone sculpted over centuries by wind and water. Nearly 42,500 hectares declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2000 — and at its centre, Castildetierra, the fairy chimney that has become the absolute symbol of the park.
Day 3
Mont-rebei Gorge — La Masieta parking
Day 3 · 09:00Most common starting point for the Congost. Parking reservation recommended in high season (~€6-8). Bring water — no fountains along the route. The Mont-rebei Gorge is Catalunya's only major canyon free of roads, power lines, or any modern trace — just a trail carved into the rock in 1982 that follows the Noguera Ribagorzana river. The walls rise over 500 metres and, at the narrowest point, the canyon closes to just 20-30 metres wide.
Montfalcó Walkways
Day 3 · 13:00The most spectacular and most exposed section of the gorge — not recommended for anyone with a fear of heights. The full route includes wooden walkways anchored to the cliff face, a suspension bridge connecting Aragón and Catalunya over the turquoise water of the Canelles reservoir, and sections of genuine vertigo.
Day 4
Mallos de Riglos
Day 4 · 17:00Park beside the village of Riglos — the Mirador de los Buitres (Vultures' Viewpoint) offers the widest view of the formation. These conglomerate spires formed roughly 22 million years ago from sediment washed down from the Pyrenees. They reach 275 metres at their highest point and were declared a Natural Monument in 2016. You don't need to climb to feel their scale — just look up from the village.