GR 11 weather: warnings stage by stage, month by month

GR 11, Hondarribia to Cap de Creus, in 38 stages. Warnings 2019–2025; updated 27 October 2026.

The GR 11, the Senda Pirenaica, crosses the Spanish Pyrenees from sea to sea: from the Bay of Biscay at Cabo Higuer, in Hondarribia, to the Mediterranean at Cap de Creus. It's high mountain nearly all the way, and by warnings it's a much busier route than the big pilgrim routes. This is what the official warnings say, stage by stage and month by month.

October

the month with the fewest warnings

6.3 warning days walking the whole route

January

the month with the most warnings

18 warning days in 38 stages

warning zones

in 5 provinces

red days on some stage

2019 to 2025

It's many stages through Navarre, Aragon and Catalonia, plus two through Andorra. Andorra lies outside AEMET's zones, so here those two stages are folded into one, Vallferrera to Malniu, using the zones at either end. For each stage we count the warning days in the zones it crosses, and add them up month by month.

The Huesca Pyrenees, Lleida Pyrenees and Girona Pyrenees zones are well above the median Spanish zone for warning days. October and April are the calmest months; January and August, the busiest.

In summer, storms and heat lead; in winter, cold, wind and snow, which is still the top reason for a warning in March. In the high-mountain zones the yellow threshold is 5 cm for snow and 34 °C for heat. In the last eight years there have been red days in winter, such as 22 to 24 January 2019 for snow and wind or 7 and 8 December 2024 for rain, wind and snow, and in summer too, such as 28 and 29 June 2019 for heat.

The GR 11's warning zones

AEMET doesn't warn by village but by zone. The GR 11 crosses 8 warning zones, each with its own thresholds and warnings: on the same day one section can have a warning and the next none.

Fewer warnings than averageClose to averageMore warnings than average

Average warning days a year in each zone, 2019–2025, against the median of Spain's zones (54 days). Approximate route through the stages. Tap a zone to go to its page.

Walking the whole route, month by month

How many warning days you'd get, on average, walking one stage a day from Hondarribia to Cap de Creus in each month. Tap a month to see it stage by stage.

yelloworangered

18Jan 9.0Feb 9.8Mar 6.9Apr 7.0May 15Jun 16Jul 17Aug 9.5Sep 6.3Oct 9.4Nov 12Dec

Stage-days with a warning, average 2019–2025, over 38 stages; the colour is the day's highest level in the stage's zones.

Stage by stage, month by month

Share of days with some warning in each stage's zones, 2019–2025. The darker, the more warnings.

Stage	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1. Cabo Higuer – Bera	29	19	20	12	16	28	12	21	20	18	26	20
2. Bera – Elizondo	28	19	20	11	14	26	10	20	16	17	23	18
3. Elizondo – Puerto de Urkiaga	28	19	20	11	14	26	10	20	16	17	23	18
4. Puerto de Urkiaga – Burguete	45	28	31	17	18	40	24	37	22	21	27	31
5. Burguete – Villanueva de Aezkoa	41	18	21	12	12	36	24	31	17	13	17	26
6. Villanueva de Aezkoa – Ochagavía	41	18	21	12	12	36	24	31	17	13	17	26
7. Ochagavía – Isaba	41	18	21	12	12	36	24	31	17	13	17	26
8. Isaba – Zuriza	41	18	21	12	12	36	24	31	17	13	17	26
9. Zuriza – La Mina	59	33	37	22	23	50	51	52	29	22	32	41
10. La Mina – Candanchú	56	30	32	21	20	46	50	51	27	21	30	39
11. Candanchú – Sallent de Gállego	56	30	32	21	20	46	50	51	27	21	30	39
12. Sallent de Gállego – Balneario de Panticosa	56	30	32	21	20	46	50	51	27	21	30	39
13. Balneario de Panticosa – San Nicolás de Bujaruelo	56	30	32	21	20	46	50	51	27	21	30	39
14. San Nicolás de Bujaruelo – Refugio de Góriz	56	30	32	21	20	46	50	51	27	21	30	39
15. Refugio de Góriz – Pineta	56	30	32	21	20	46	50	51	27	21	30	39
16. Pineta – Parzán	56	30	32	21	20	46	50	51	27	21	30	39
17. Parzán – Viadós	56	30	32	21	20	46	50	51	27	21	30	39
18. Viadós – Benasque	56	30	32	21	20	46	50	51	27	21	30	39
19. Benasque – Refugio de Conangles	59	31	35	24	22	47	52	52	27	22	32	41
20. Refugio de Conangles – Refugio de la Restanca	52	25	27	17	13	24	24	28	17	13	24	36
21. Refugio de la Restanca – Refugio de Colomers	52	25	27	17	13	24	24	28	17	13	24	36
22. Refugio de Colomers – Espot	61	30	30	24	19	42	56	57	27	18	29	40
23. Espot – Estaon	56	27	26	19	18	42	56	57	27	17	25	33
24. Estaon – Tavascan	56	27	26	19	18	42	56	57	27	17	25	33
25. Tavascan – Àreu	56	27	26	19	18	42	56	57	27	17	25	33
26. Àreu – Refugi de Vallferrera	56	27	26	19	18	42	56	57	27	17	25	33
27. Refugi de Vallferrera – Refugi de Malniu (por Andorra)	56	27	30	24	27	51	61	67	36	20	29	36
28. Refugi de Malniu – Puigcerdà	44	18	22	18	23	40	48	49	30	12	20	24
29. Puigcerdà – Planoles	44	18	22	18	23	40	48	49	30	12	20	24
30. Planoles – Núria	44	18	22	18	23	40	48	49	30	12	20	24
31. Núria – Setcases	44	18	22	18	23	40	48	49	30	12	20	24
32. Setcases – Beget	44	18	22	18	23	40	48	49	30	12	20	24
33. Beget – Sant Aniol d'Aguja	44	18	22	18	23	40	48	49	30	12	20	24
34. Sant Aniol d'Aguja – Albanyà	44	18	22	18	23	40	48	49	30	12	20	24
35. Albanyà – La Jonquera	44	18	22	18	23	40	48	49	30	12	20	24
36. La Jonquera – Llançà	46	21	26	25	24	46	59	58	35	17	29	28
37. Llançà – El Port de la Selva	24	12	11	12	7	20	33	33	21	12	20	15
38. El Port de la Selva – Cap de Creus	24	12	11	12	7	20	33	33	21	12	20	15

The GR 11 section by section

Navarre: Cabo Higuer – Isaba

The GR 11 leaves the Gipuzkoa coast, among the least-warned zones on the route, and enters Navarre through Bera and Elizondo. It's the calmest of the four sections: mostly rain and wind, with snow showing up in the Navarrese Pyrenees; January and June are the busiest months.

Most common: rain, wind and storms. Most warnings in January and June; fewest in April and May.

Aragon: Isaba – Benasque

From Isaba to Benasque, by way of Candanchú, Panticosa, Góriz and Pineta, the GR 11 runs through the Huesca Pyrenees, the zone with the most warning days on the whole route. Warnings come in every kind: rain, storms, snow and wind, and heat in summer too. May and October are the calmest months.

Most common: rain, storms and snow. Most warnings in January and August; fewest in May and October.

Lleida: Benasque – Refugi de Vallferrera

Through the Val d'Aran and the Restanca and Colomers refuges, the route crosses the zone with the most snow warnings on the whole GR 11. After that, the Lleida Pyrenees get plenty of wind warnings and, in summer, heat warnings. January and August are the busiest months.

Most common: rain, storms and wind. Most warnings in January and August; fewest in October and May.

Girona: Refugi de Vallferrera – Cap de Creus

After crossing Andorra, outside AEMET's zones, the GR 11 carries on through Puigcerdà, Núria, Setcases and Beget before dropping to the Empordà and Cap de Creus. Here summer is the busiest time, with storms and heat; in the Empordà, snow warnings are very rare.

Most common: rain, storms and wind. Most warnings in August and July; fewest in October and February.

The worst days on the GR 11

The days since 2018 with orange or red on the most stages at once.

orange1 April 2022: orange warning on 38 of 38 stages, for wind and snow · the episode
orange27 January 2019: orange warning on 36 of 38 stages, for wind and snow · the episode
orange28 January 2019: orange warning on 36 of 38 stages, for rain, wind and snow · the episode
orange27 June 2019: orange warning on 36 of 38 stages, for heat · the episode
orange19 December 2019: orange warning on 36 of 38 stages, for rain and wind · the episode
orange20 December 2019: orange warning on 36 of 38 stages, for rain and wind · the episode
orange17 June 2021: orange warning on 36 of 38 stages, for rain and storms · the episode
orange2 April 2022: orange warning on 36 of 38 stages, for wind, cold and snow · the episode

When a warning is issued on the GR 11

Thresholds change from zone to zone. These are the yellow ones in the GR 11's zones:

Zone	Heat	Cold	Wind	Rain 1 h	Snow 24 h
Gipuzkoa litoral	34 °C	−1 °C	90 km/h	15 mm	2 cm
Vertiente cantábrica de Navarra	36 °C	−4 °C	70 km/h	15 mm	2 cm
Pirineo navarro	34 °C	−6 °C	80 km/h	15 mm	5 cm
Pirineo oscense	34 °C	−6 °C	80 km/h	15 mm	5 cm
Valle de Arán	34 °C	−6 °C	80 km/h	15 mm	5 cm
Pirineo de Lleida	34 °C	−6 °C	80 km/h	15 mm	5 cm
Pirineo de Girona	34 °C	−6 °C	80 km/h	20 mm	5 cm
Ampurdán	34 °C	−1 °C	80 km/h	20 mm	2 cm

Yellow thresholds from AEMET's warning plan. Orange and red need more. Storms have no numeric threshold.

Tips for the GR 11

Check AEMET's forecast the evening before each stage, and the zone's warnings on the Climaviso map.
In summer, set off early and finish the stage before the afternoon: from June to August storms are among the top reasons for a warning.
With a snow or wind warning on a col, take the low variant or wait it out in the refuge.
Snow warnings carry on to the end of winter: in March snow is the top reason for a warning on the route.
A warning covers the whole zone: it doesn't mean it will happen on your stage, but it does mean you should keep an eye out.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best month to walk the GR 11?

By warnings, October: on average, 6.3 warning days if you walk the 38 stages that month. Then April and May. The month with the most warnings is January, with 18 days.

Which section of the GR 11 gets the most rain warnings?

Aragon: on average, a rain warning on 13% of days, mostly in June, August and September.

Does the GR 11 get hot enough for warnings in summer?

In July and August, the section with the most heat warnings is Aragon: a heat warning on 28% of days, on average.

Can it snow on the GR 11?

Yes, above all on the mountain sections: snow warnings bunch up in the Valle de Arán, Pirineo oscense and Pirineo navarro zones, in January, March and December. There, yellow needs 5 cm in 24 hours.

What should I do if there's a warning on my stage?

A yellow warning calls for attention, not cancelling: check the forecast, set off early and, if it's for storms, finish the stage before the afternoon. With snow or strong wind on a col, wait or take the low variant. With orange or red, follow Civil Protection's and the mountain huts' advice, and don't go up.

This is not a forecast: it counts the warnings AEMET issued on those dates in past years. A warning is a forecast that a threshold will be crossed in the zone, not damage.