A short loop in the Bardenas desert

This short stroll will give you a complete and highly exotic overview of what the Bardenas desert has to offer in terms of difficulties and landscapes, and is sure to be an unforgettable experience.
The desert is open from 8.00 a.m. until one hour before sunset.
Depending on the bird nesting season, there is strictly no access to certain parts of the desert.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.56 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 83 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 91 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 360 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 280 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start: Park in the wide spaces at the path junction near Casteldeterria.

(S/E) Head South-East to a small pond which you must walk along for about 100 metres (or what's left of it if it's the dry season).

(1) Take the left-hand path and go straight on to the sheepfold. Beautiful panorama over the deserted plain and surrounding mountains. Retrace your steps for about 300 m.

(2) Take the right-hand path along the Eastern flank of the "Cabezo de las Cortinas" hill (364 m). Keep going until you reach the top, then walk around the plateau. From this promontory, you can see the rest of the walk down into the valley. Go back down the same path for about 200 m, until it forks off sharply to the left to the North: you'll have to make your own way to the edge of the field below.

(3) Follow the field on your right for about 300 m to the clearly visible canyons. An underground stream (often dry) has cut galleries along the edge of this field, and through gaps you can make out its course, so avoid walking on the "natural bridges" that cover it. Be careful if you have to cross them.

(4) At this point, find a quiet slope to enter the canyons (if the weather is fine, of course) and turn left along the main bed to the road.

(5) Cross the road and continue into the canyon towards the characteristic Casteldeterria peak visible in the distance.
Follow this path around Casteldeterria, and exit the canyon to return to the parking area (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 294 m - Car park
  2. 1 : km 0.71 - alt. 295 m
  3. 2 : km 1.5 - alt. 305 m
  4. 3 : km 2.92 - alt. 295 m
  5. 4 : km 3.14 - alt. 289 m
  6. 5 : km 3.84 - alt. 284 m
  7. S/E : km 4.56 - alt. 294 m

Notes

Start: Park in the wide spaces at the path junction near Casteldeterria.

Refreshments: in hot weather, don't forget water.

Gears: Hat to protect you from the sun. You'll only find a little shade in some of the canyon walls,
which are correctly oriented.

⚠️ Terrain: Don't venture into the canyons in wet weather, as they can fill very quickly with water and the crumbly rock makes the terrain very unstable and slippery.

Note: The desert is open from 8.00 a.m. until one hour before sunset.
Overnight stays are forbidden (and there are controls 24 hours a day).

_ Please note_: Depending on the bird nesting season, there is strictly no access to certain parts of the desert.
Find out more before you go, or after entering the desert on the South-East road from the village of Arguedas, at the tourist information centre (Casa y Corral de Miqueleiz on the IGN Spain TOPO map).
- Do not pick or gather anything, as the desert is classified as a "Biosphere Reserve".
- There is a firing range for the Spanish air force, which trains there twice a day. It is therefore strictly forbidden to enter.
- If you're on a mountain bike or motorcycle, stay on the tracks.
This desert is an exceptional but fragile place, so let's respect the rules so that we can enjoy it for many years to come.

Worth a visit

Many other hikes can be enjoyed in this desert (see restrictions during the nesting season and access prohibitions for certain military training areas).

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.1 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.8 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
User 13238394

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this short circular loop on 20 April 2026. It was very windy, but the view from the summit is truly magnificent.
We had a bit of trouble on the way back – no doubt due to heavy rain – as the fork in the path leading back had disappeared... So you have to go a little further down before you can turn left, and then, after a few dozen metres of following your instincts, you’ll find the trail again. Nothing too complicated.

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User 4051896

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It was very difficult to find my bearings at first because the lake is virtual, so I did a smaller but nice circular that goes through the canyon behind the castildétiera with passages under arches, which is not very busy.

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pjw
pjw

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike on a peaceful trail that is not very busy, even in August. Beautiful views

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User 12354849

Hello,
Thank you for suggesting this hike.
We found the start of the walk (pond then sheepfold) but then we couldn't find the path. After climbing a bit along an uncertain route, we turned back...

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hubertdaniel
hubertdaniel

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Super walk with few visitors
magnificent view don't hesitate to walk around the plateau once you're at the top
we covered a total of 6 km
easy even the descent into the canyon at the end of the route, choose the best passage
do it without hesitation

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22yves32
22yves32

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route on offer only covers part of the plateau, so it's preferable to do the whole thing, which doesn't take much longer and offers superb panoramic views.
The weather had been bad with quite a bit of rain, so we had to adapt by only descending into the canyon in the last third of the route. But it was a great hike for so little time and so little walking.

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BrunoFlyman
BrunoFlyman

Hello,
I'm glad you enjoyed the walk

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Hervé Bignon
Hervé Bignon

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

If you leave in the late morning, you can have lunch at the top of the plateau where you will be surrounded by thyme and rosemary.

The panoramic view over the valley will be the reward for your climb.

Be careful on this itinerary, which may end in a variant, as a path starts at the bottom of the descent on the left and skirts the promontory closer than the proposed route.
This path is very easy to follow and avoids the "road" section where there are too many vehicles for my liking.

This route saved me a day's hike on another route that had become impassable due to too much water (yes, it happens).
In the end, all my group of hikers were delighted with this high altitude discovery.

Thank you for this suggestion.

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Baz bol
Baz bol

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Be careful in wet weather at points 4 and 5, which can be impassable or even dangerous with unstable ground as you cross the field with an underground stream ... danger of subsidence! Then the river is impassable if it has rained recently. Stay along the mountain, which is also safer, but remain vigilant. Otherwise great!

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boheme65
boheme65

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant little walk in the Bardenas, with some lovely views from high up.
Thanks to visorando for the itinerary, as there are no signposts or suggested walks on the site.

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Bastien0117
Bastien0117

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This is a very beautiful walk, with a magnificent view over the Bardenas Natural Park. Allow 1? hours at an easy pace.

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Gaingain
Gaingain

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A fun little loop that offers great views of the Bardenas, and in particular the Castildetierra.
The route is fairly easy to follow and the area is sparsely populated.

A real pleasure.

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grandin
grandin ★

Thank you Thierryb26, I've deleted this message as it didn't really belong here.

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Thierryb26
Thierryb26
• Edited:

Hello Michel Serrut, President of the Cassipont hiking association,
I'm just a simple user like you, but I'd like to give you a couple of pieces of advice:
- If you want to discuss how the application works and possibly get answers to your problems, this is the place:
https://www.visorando.com/forum-randonne...
- You don't leave your personal details, especially your phone number, on a forum unless you want to be spammed,
- On the substance, you should be more explicit about the difficulties you've encountered, and in particular why you're referring to Opera, which is a browser and has nothing to do with Visorando, because your message isn't very useful there...

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