Village
Sallent de Gállego is a mountain town in Alto Gállego, Huesca, the capital of the Valle de Tena, situated on the banks of the Lanuza reservoir and at the foot of the highest peaks of the Pyrenees, very close to the border with France; the Gállego river, which rises within its municipal area, and its tributary the Aguas Limpias meet near the town centre, giving the settlement its name from the nearby Salto del Aguaslimpias waterfall. With 1,505 inhabitants, it preserves a Gothic church from the early 16th century with a valuable Plateresque altarpiece. Above the village rises the Peña Foratata, its most emblematic peak, alongside other summits exceeding 3,000 metres; the GR-11 route and the El Portalet border crossing pass through its territory. The municipality also includes the settlement of Formigal, home to its ski resort.
Nature
One of the largest ski resorts in the Aragonese Pyrenees, next to Sallent de Gállego (Huesca). It has 182 kilometres of skiable terrain spread over 142 runs, between 1,510 and 2,250 metres of altitude, and a lift capacity of 53,497 skiers per hour. The Anayet valley was added to the resort in 1997 and that of Portalet in 2006. In 2014 it merged with the neighbouring resort of Panticosa, with which it now forms the joint resort of Aramón Formigal-Panticosa.
Monument
The parish church of Sallent de Gállego, in the Alto Gállego district of Huesca and gateway to the Tena valley towards Formigal, is dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Asunción and was built in the early 16th century in Gothic style. It preserves a valuable Plateresque altarpiece and the venerated image of the Virgen de las Nieves, patron saint of the town. It is declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection).
Activity
The patron saint festivities of Sallent de Gállego are held from 4 to 7 August in honour of the Virgen de las Nieves, with 5 August as the main day; the municipality also holds a second set of festivities in September (13-14) dedicated to la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz.
Monument
In the village of Formigal, within the municipality of Sallent de Gállego, the small Mozarabic church of el Salvador de Basarán is preserved, from the 10th century and rebuilt in 1972, which contrasts with the modern buildings of the ski resort.
Nature
Viewpoint over the Formigal ski resort, in the municipal area of Sallent de Gállego. From here some of the main peaks of the Aragonese and French Pyrenees can be seen, such as the Midi d'Ossau, the Balaitus and the Picos del Infierno.
Nature
Landscape of the Tena valley around Sallent de Gállego (Huesca), run through by the Gállego river and its tributary the Aguas Limpias, which give the municipality its name. It is dominated by peaks over 3,000 metres such as Peña Foratata, Anayet and Balaitous, and dotted with high-mountain ibones such as that of Respomuso, next to which there is a mountaineers' refuge, and the Lanuza reservoir. The GR-11, the route that crosses the Pyrenees from sea to sea, passes through the area, and the valley gives access to the Formigal ski resort, as well as to settlements such as Escarrilla, Sandiniés and Tramacastilla de Tena.
Monument
The town hall of Sallent de Gállego is a two-storey stone house, sober and well-proportioned, with a small entrance courtyard closed off by an iron gate; the town was first crown land and later passed to the lordship of the Lanuza family.
Historical milestone
The construction of the reservoir forced the departure of the close to two hundred residents of the village, which was left empty in January 1978. In the nineties the former inhabitants recovered the houses not submerged and brought it back to life.
Historical milestone
The promoting company was constituted at the impulse of the lawyer Ramón Sainz de Varanda to raise a ski resort in the valley; the first chairlift, El Furco, entered service in January 1965 and opened Tena to snow tourism.
Food and drink
Winter pottage of the valley cooked slowly with chickpeas and white beans, ham bone, pig's cheek or rib, and finished with chorizo and black pudding with rice and cinnamon; borage is the vegetable that usually accompanies it.
Food and drink
Dry bread cut thin and fried with garlic and bacon until it comes loose, which in Tramacastilla de Tena is served accompanied by grapes; it was the hearty breakfast of shepherds and reapers before going up to the mountain.