Carros de Foc on foot

The Amitges refuge on a rocky slope below granite peaks

Photo: Pimlico27, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Distance
about 65 km (40 miles)
Country
Spain
Difficulty
Challenging
Type of trip
Hiking trail

Carros de Foc is a circular walk that links the nine staffed mountain refuges of the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici national park, the only national park in Catalonia. The official site gives 65 km and 5 to 7 days, at an average height of 2,400 m. You can start at any refuge and go round in either direction. The main ways in are Espot and Boí, where 4x4 taxis run up to the Sant Maurici lake and the Aigüestortes plain, as private cars aren’t allowed inside the park. You sleep in the refuges, and you have to book them through the Carros de Foc central booking office. The €40 forfait is a card you get stamped at each refuge, and it comes with a 1:50,000 map from Editorial Alpina.

It isn’t a waymarked trail. There’s no special marking for Carros de Foc. Some sections share the red and white of the GR 11, some have yellow wooden posts, and a lot of it follows cairns, so the official site says a map is essential. It’s high mountain ground and can get hard in bad weather. There’s no phone signal on 60 to 70% of the route, most refuges only take cash, camping and bivouacking are banned in the park, and there’s no bag transfer.

Highlights along the way

  1. Estany de Sant Maurici: The lake near Espot, with the twin peaks of Els Encantats behind it, is the park’s emblem. Ernest Mallafré, the lowest refuge at 1,950 m, is one of the three refuges on the Espot side.
  2. Amitges: A refuge at 2,380 m run by the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, and one of only two on the loop that takes cards. When the staffed part is shut, an emergency room with 12 places stays open.
  3. Collado de Contraix: At 2,745 m, the highest point of the loop.
  4. Colomers and Restanca: The refuges on the Val d’Aran side. In summer taxis run from the Val d’Aran to the start of the paths up to them, and around Colomers there’s a circuit of the lakes of the Circ de Colomèrs. Saboredo is the smallest refuge, with 18 places.
  5. Colomina: The highest refuge, at 2,395 m, on the south side. From the Vall Fosca a cable car runs from the Sallente reservoir to the Estany Gento, a walk from Colomina.

Distance

About 65 km (40 miles) in all, by the official site, with about 9,200 m of climbing and descending added together. The refuges sit between 1,950 m and 2,395 m, and the highest pass is the Collado de Contraix at 2,745 m. Catalan Wikipedia recommends at least four days, though in the race version people have gone round in under 24 hours.

Best time to go

The refuges are staffed in summer, and each sets its own dates. In 2026 the Catalan tourism site femturisme.cat gave Estany Llong’s season as 1 June to 15 October, and Amitges opens to its own calendar. Check each refuge’s site, linked from carrosdefoc.com, before you plan. The official FAQ says to book well ahead for July and August. Your place is held until 19:00 on the day, so ring the refuge if you’ll be late.

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