Stage 1: Alquézar-Colungo-Alquézar

The Route immediately enters the historical quarter of the town, running through cobbled streets surrounded by picturesque buildings for several hundred metres before leaving the town and heading north.

Then you come to a slope that heads in the direction of the hermitage of San Gregorio, passing close by a reservoir, the aljibe de San Gregorio. You pass along a broad forested track right at the diversion that takes you to the hermitage. Although the route continues along the forest trail, it's well worth paying a visit to the hermitage to see the fantastic views of Alquézar and the canyon of the river Vero. Another option is to pass by the church and keep walking until you reach a bird observatory, from where you can see carrion eating birds that come here to feed off the nearby 'muladar' (midden).

Continuing along the Nature Route through the forest trail for another kilometre, you come to a fork in the path. At this point Stages 1 and 2 separate. If you continue on the trail, you'll be taking Stage 2, but if you want to continue with this stage, take the narrower trail that heads off to the right.

This part of the trail follows a traditional water course that takes you to an area called the Balsas de Basacol, a group of ancient Moorish aljibes (water cisterns) that were used to keep the water that supplied Alquézar. The area was rehabilitated, tables and seating were installed, and is now a popular location for picnics and hiking.

Heading south, you leave the Balsas on a trail that goes upwards to a natural esplanade, from where another trail takes you down towards Alquézar.

From here there is a wonderful view of the southern part of the town, and of the canyons of the river Vero to the north east. The route continues along a trail that heads down to the river Vero. Once there, you cross the river over the bridge of Villacantal, a stone built bridge with two arches and the unusual feature of being built at an angle. At the bottom of the gorge of the Vero there are some impressive rock formations surrounding the canyon, which explains why lovers of canyoning pass through here on their way down from the beautiful village of Lecina.

The route heads upwards to reach the other side of the canyon of the river Vero. After an uphill walk of about one kilometre, you come to a pass from where you set off along a small path that takes you to the shelter of Regacens, which was once used as a corral and still has some examples of rock art. The trail itself, however, continues eastwards towards Asque. You reach this small village, which forms part of the municipality of Colungo, by heading down towards the gorge of Malpaso and going back up the other side.

The Route enters Asque along the main street until you come to a plaza, where it splits. To continue along the route, you need to take the east route to leave Asque and head off towards Colungo, or you can go west to return to Alquézar. If you set off towards Colungo, the route goes down to the gorge of Fornocal, where you cross over the bridge of El Diablo. Probably of medieval origin, this stone built bridge with a pointed arch gets its name from the legend that building it was so difficult that it must have been the work of the Devil himself, who left a mark on the mortar that is still fresh.

After an upward stretch of one kilometre from the gorge, you finally come to Colungo. Like Alquézar, this small village dates back to the Middle Ages. It also has a centre of rock art with information about the cultures that lived in the area surrounding the river Vero. It is also the setting off point for guided visits to the rock shelters and caves in the region of the Somontano de Barbastro, organised by the Cultural Park of the river Vero.

About 3 km of a gentle downwards slope take you back to the canyon of the river Vero, where you get another panoramic view of Alquézar, this time from the south. The trail slopes more sharply on its way to the river, where you come to the historical bridge of Fuendebaños. This is a good place to appreciate the importance of the Vero in the development of Alquézar, since here you can see some mills that were once here just after crossing the bridge.

Now you come to an upward slope that heads up the canyon and comes to the starting point of the Route in Alquézar. Along the way, after about half a kilometre, a diversion to the right connects with the end point of the routes of the Vero, an impressive trail where you can walk between the rock faces of the river canyon, sometimes directly above the water along some aerial walkways anchored into the rock. You need to make a reservation beforehand if you want to do this route (for more information, contact the tourist office at Alquézar or go to http://pasarelasdealquezar.com/es_ES/).

If you want to complete the 17 km of the first stage, you just have to continue upwards for another half a kilometre to come the starting point next to the parish church.