Where: Mallos de Riglos, Riglos, north Aragon, Spain
When: October 2020 (page written Jan 2024)
Why: Birthday getaway for the hubski at a luxury hotel, which just happened to be located next to one of the most amazing rock formations in Europe, which very few people have ever heard of.
Intro
When you see those tik-toks or instagram videos of hidden gems of Spain, not one of them mentions Mallos de Riglos. And they really, really should as the Mallos de Riglos rock formations are one of the most amazing natural sights in the country (in a country filled with wonderful places).
Mallos de Riglos is a ´conglomerate rock´, according to wikipedia. The red-rock formation is like a bowl with a crack down one side, with vertical walls and a chamber area in the middle, which collects clouds. I´ve never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world. The vertical walls are very popular with climbers and there are many walks in the area around the rocks.
Although the Mallos rocks are the huge attraction here, the whole area is pretty dramatic. The drive to get there was really exciting, over rapidy rivers, around sharp bends, under and over cliff-faces. The wild hills are full of isolated castles and hermitages. This is a rough and pretty area.
The focus of our visit was the Hotel Spa Aguas de Mallos. We came here with our 18-month old, for a bit of relaxation. When we visited here it was in-between Covid lockdowns and so there were still many restrictions on movements, numbers, face masks etc. We also visited on an extremely wet autumn weekend and that restricted much of what we could do. However, despite all this, we had a magical time here, I´m so glad we discovered this gem on our doorstep, and we will definitely be going back.
Getting there
We drove here from Pamplona. The drive took us about an hour and a half. As I said above, it was very dramatic driving.
It is also possible to travel here by train and one day I would love to travel here this way. The railway line runs right below the Mallos rocks, stopping at Estacion de tren Riglos. This is the train line which runs from Zaragoza, via Huesca, to Canfranc Estacion, right up in the Pyrenees on the French border; one of the most dramatic railway lines in Europe – and again, not that well known.
They´re currently (Jan 2024) mending the line so the rail journey from Huesca onwards is by bus replacement service. It currently takes just under two-hours to get from Zaragoza to Riglos and costs €8.30 each way. You can get train times and book tickets (in English) on the Renfe website.
I don´t think there is any way to travel here by bus.
What we did on our trip
Mostly we enjoyed just being near the rocks. We had a nearly two-year old, so we couldn´t do a huge amount or anything too adventurous.
Our first day, we went for a Spanish-Iranian lunch at Restaurante Nadali in Jaca, then drove to our hotel (in the pouring rain) and then we enjoyed the spa and the grounds at the hotel.
The second day it was still tipping it down with rain but we went to have a look at Castillo Loarre, a very dramatic, romantic, sixteeth-century castle. Unfortunately, this was the time of Covid, so we could only visit the castle on a guided tour and we weren´t sure our 18-month old, who had only taken his first solo steps the day before, would be able to manage on the rough, wet steps or that we could navigate it in the rain with a pushchair. So we decided not to do the tour at that time. However, we did enjoy looking at the exterior of the castle, the stunning views from the high-up location, and visiting the warm gift-shop. Even while we were there we said we´d have to come back.
You can find up to date information (in English) about opening times and ticket prices, and book tickets and tours, on the Castle Loarre website.
Other places to visit in this area include the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña, which has been built underneath a huge rock; the city of Huesca, which has a cathedral; and the ruins of the Castle of Montearagón
UR Pirineaos organise white-water rafting, on the Gallego River, which goes past the Mallos rocks. They also do other adventure sports in the area. POD travels has a great blog about their white-water rafting trip here (including a video).
Where we stayed
Hotel Spa Aguas de Mallos
This trip was thanks to our friend Rosie. I was asking if she knew of any special hotels in the area, not too far from Pamplona, and it was she who told us about Hotel Spa Aguas de Mallos.
The Hotel Spa Aguas de Mallos is a very special place, mostly for its location overlooking the Mallos de Riglos rocks. It´s also, however, a wonderful place to stay as it has very comfy rooms, a heated outdoor pool, nice grounds and, best of all, a wonderful spa. I will never forget sitting in the jacuzzi, watching the Mallos rocks lighting up orange in the twilight; the lights in the tiny village huddled below the rocks coming on as the sun set; having this glorious, glowy end to a very wet, autumn day. It was magnificent.
We had a room on the ground floor, so we could sit on our patio, overlooking the view. The room was comfy and spacious but I think it was right above the spa, so it had this wonderful woody sauna smell, but was very, very hot. We had breakfast included in our room rate and this was a great buffet, eaten in the airy, glass walled dining room. There was also a nice bar here, though we didn´t use it, and pretty grounds.
We paid €100 for the room for the night and the spa was an additional €20 per person. If you´d like to use the spa but not stay at the hotel you can, and this is currently €40 per person. You can get spa prices and info here.
Armalygal Camping
We haven´t stayed here (yet) but I just wanted to also mention Armalygal Camping, which is also located overlooking the rocks. They have plots and bungalows and a small swimming pool. I think they also have a restaurant. You can find out all about it (in English) at their website.
Useful links
www.turismodearagon.com/en/ficha/reino-de-los-mallos (info about the area in English)
www.turismodearagon.com/ficha/mallos-de-riglos (official tourist office information but in Spanish)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallos_de_Riglos
Disclaimer
Please note, some of this information may not be correct, or may be out of date. All these articles show is how we found these places when we visited and what we personally thought of each place. Where possible I will include links to sites which contain more up-to-date information. All of this is our own work and any opinion expressed is that of the author only.
All photos copyright of J Clemo-Halpenny, unless otherwise stated. If you would like to copy or reproduce any of these images, please email me to ask permission.
What I did on my Holiday 