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'Monte Perdido' ('Mont Perdu' in French, both meaning ''lost mountain'') is the third highest mountain in the Pyrenees. The summit of Monte Perdido (3355m), located in Spain, lies hidden from France by the seemingly impenetrable peaks of the Cirques of Gavarnie and Estaube.
To get to the mountain from Spain is easier. Explorers first had to hike from the Aragonese village of Torla along the huge Ordesa Valley and then up through the Circo de Soaso before attempting the stiff climb to the summit. Monte Perdido is the centrepiece of the Spanish Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park which was established in 1918 with just 21 square kilometres of land.
Today the park has grown significantly to 156 square kilometres and incorporates the whole of the Añisclo Canyon. There are more than 1500 species of flower, 171 birds, 32 different mammals and 8 types of reptile in the Ordesa. Most magnificent of all is the Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture) with a 3 metre wingspan. The Pyrenees is one of the rare places to see these birds in Europe.