Aragón corrects the land-use plan for the Mallos de Riglos

The Government of Aragon has corrected a material error in Decree 131/2026, of July 22, which approves the Master Plan for the Use and Management of the Natural Monument of the Mallos de Riglos, Agüero, and Peña Rueba. The correction, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 163, of August 24, 2026, entirely replaces Annex III, dedicated to the regime of uses and activities, with a new text that establishes which activities are permitted, authorizable, or prohibited within the natural area.

The document, signed by the Department of Environment and Tourism, warns of the error noted in Annex III of the original decree, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 146, of July 30, 2026. The new wording organizes the uses into two columns: compatible (permitted or authorizable) and incompatible (prohibited), and affects mountaineers, tourists, residents, and audiovisual operators.

Prohibited Uses and Restrictions

The new annex maintains a strict protection regime for the natural monument, with several activities declared incompatible:

Hunting, prohibited.
Exploration, research, and exploitation of mining resources, prohibited.
Energy production, prohibited.
New transport and distribution lines for energy, gas, oil, and other fluids, prohibited.
Telecommunications, prohibited.
Permanent installations and equipment, prohibited (with exceptions for climbing).
Zip lines, “rope jump,” or “bungee jump” fixed to the rock, prohibited.
Advertising support installations, prohibited.
Motorized sports competitions and trials, prohibited.
Release of balloons, rockets, fireworks, and pyrotechnic shows, prohibited.
Camping and overnight stays in the natural area, prohibited.
Unleashed pets, prohibited.

Climbing, the Most Regulated Use

Climbing concentrates the most detailed rules of the annex, with distinctions by modality, zone, and calendar:

Installation of via ferratas, prohibited; the re-equipping of existing ones is authorizable.
Re-equipping or restoration of existing climbing routes in limited-use zones, authorizable.
Equipping new sport climbing sectors in limited-use zones, authorizable.
Climbing practice in reserve zones, prohibited year-round.
Traditional climbing in limited-use zones, permitted year-round.
Sport climbing and via ferrata in limited-use zones, permitted only on current routes.
Sport climbing in the “As gargantas” sector of the Agüero area, permitted between August 1 and February 28 and prohibited the rest of the year.

Permitted and Authorizable Uses

Alongside the prohibitions, the annex recognizes activities compatible with the conservation of the area:

Existing traditional agricultural uses, permitted in limited-use zones.
Hiking on marked routes, permitted.
Horseback riding, bicycles, scooters, and human-powered or electric vehicles, only on tracks, roads, and paths marked as compatible.
Free flight, permitted.
Drone overflights, authorizable via exceptional authorization in accordance with article 19.3 of the Air Regulation (RD 1180/2018, of September 21).
Organized activities of a social, academic, cultural, didactic, and educational nature in limited-use zones, permitted with prior notification.
Research activities within the natural space, permitted with prior notification.
Commercial filming of movies, videos, and photo sessions, authorizable.

The correction provides legal certainty to a master plan that organizes the coexistence between the protection of an emblematic natural enclave of the Aragonese Pre-Pyrenees and traditional, sporting, and tourist uses. For climbers, the Agüero sector and the routes of the Mallos, and for residents and visitors, the new annex clearly defines what can be done and where, avoiding disparate interpretations in the daily management of the monument.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 163, of August 24, 2026, I. General Provisions (official reference: BOA20260824001).