The proposed route is considerable, both in terms of distance and elevation gain.

Specifically, it covers a distance of about 20 kilometres and an elevation gain of about 1,500 metres. Ten today! We can compare this route to the Pica d'Estats, although the height of Pic de Certascan is about 300 metres lower than Pica. Nevertheless, it is a route for people with a high level of fitness. That said, let's take a closer look at the route we will be following.

Route: 

Given the difficulty of the excursion, we will leave early by car from the town of Tavascan, behind the town of Valle de Cardós, and take a somewhat dilapidated forest track about 6 km long that will take us to the Montalto Dam. Here we will leave the car and begin the excursion on foot. 

We will continue in the same direction we were travelling by car, entering Plan de Bohabi, following the GRT59, and after about 1 km, we will find a turnoff on the left indicating Certascan. This is where the GRT60 begins, heading towards Pleta del Llurri, an open area frequented by grazing horses.

We continue climbing and after a while we cross the forest track that was built years ago to construct the Certescan dam and which ends at Lake Romedo de Baix.

We cross the forest track and continue climbing, now on the GRT59, coming across La Canalada on the left after about 30 minutes. Here we will find another sign indicating the direction we must follow to get to Certascan. The route continues uphill, through a fairly rocky area, but it is very well signposted and will take us to Estany Xic del Certescan, where we will find the refuge. Here at the refuge, we can stop for breakfast, because we will only have covered 25% of the route and the hardest part is yet to come, so we need to recharge our batteries.

Leaving the refuge, we immediately come to Lake Certascan, the largest lake in the Pyrenees and one of the deepest. We follow it on the left for about 20 minutes and soon come to a turn-off on the left that takes us to the Coll de Certascan. Here, the going gets tough, and once we reach the pass, we turn right towards the summit. It is about 2 km from the refuge to the pass and 1 km from the pass to the peak. There is a 600-metre climb and it takes about two and a half hours.

Once you reach the summit and take the obligatory photos and videos, retrace your steps back to the refuge. Here you have two options: return the way you came or take the route to Estany Naorte, which is highly recommended. Although it is a little longer, it is well worth it for the beauty of Estany Naorte, from where you can... If we take this option, we will head to Naorte and then to Estany Closell, where we will take the forest track that we crossed in the morning when we were climbing Pleta del Llurri. In this case, we will continue along the track for about 3 km until we reach Collada de Estallón, where there is a path on the left that will take us directly to the car park where we left our car.

In total, we will have spent about 10-12 hours, which may seem like a lot, but it will have been well worth it.