Lleida is already a Biosphere destination
The preservation of the planet begins with the care of one's own, of what is closest to us. To this end, the world leaders represented at the UN agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 goals in the economic, social and environmental spheres. They are specified in the call 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, that proposes to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all before 2030. These are guidelines to be followed by governments, public and private companies, society as a whole and each person in particular. And each natural space in which we move, and this also puts all tourist activity at stake, has its responsibility to guarantee the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources.
This spring, while the flowers of the fruit trees colored the fields of Lleida, The Responsible Tourism Institute (ITR) was preparing the verdict that has awarded the Biosphere Destination certification to the entire Lleida region. Thus, the firm commitment in the 13 counties of the Pyrenees and Terres de Lleida to implement actions aligned with the SDGs emerges.
A day of trekking next to Estany de Ratera
THE NATIONAL PARK, THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG
Places as unique as the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park have had their specific weight in the recognition of Lleida as a sustainable destination. Also its sky, which was certified by the Starlight Foundation for its excellent conditions for astronomical observation, over the national park and over the Sierra del Montsec, where the Parc Astronòmic Montsec is located. EITHER valleys like the Vall de Boí, which houses the Romanesque churches recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, consolidate protection of cultural heritage and its natural environment that add value in that environmental preservation. In the same way they do the festivities of the Falles dels Pirineus, the descent of lighted logs at dusk on the dates close to the summer solstice, in various mountain villages, which have been Intangible Heritage of Humanity since December 2016. Because preserving the environment also includes activity and ancestral traditions of its people.
In the demarcation of Lleida there is also the largest nature reserve in Catalonia, the Alt Pirineu Natural Park, almost 80,000 hectares of territory that protects natural and cultural heritage, crowned by the highest peak in Catalonia, the Pica d'Estats, with 3,143 meters of altitude. Excursions, on foot, by bicycle, on horseback or on skis are some of the experiences that allow you to delve into the beauty of this Pyrenean landscape, which is also the home of ranchers, farmers and all the inhabitants of its small population centers. In them, agri-food products workers and craft workshops usually offer visits and make their productions known and purchased in local shops, markets and fairs.
Ornithological observation at Estany d'Ivars i Vila-Sana
For the most daring, Lleida has several rivers where the emotions on a canoe or in a rafting boat are a very sweet proposal as a soaking adventure activity. Specific, the Noguera Pallaresa river, where rafting is the star of these experiences, it hosts international whitewater sports competitions.
Fishing in small tributaries of the higher valleys, such as the Vall Ferrera, and boat rides on lakes like the one in La Pobla de Segur or La Guingueta d'Àneu, also in the reservoir of Escales, they are another possibility of enjoyment, but in the calm of much calmer waters.
THIRTEEN COUNTIES, 17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Characterized by a family tourism, small tourist companies offer in the regions of Lleida experiences of trekking, climbing and caving or observing the native fauna and flora, in magnificent enclaves like the Serra de Boumort or the Estany d'Ivars i Vila-Sana.
Lleida does not know large concentrations of hotels, Cozy rural tourism accommodation, campsites, refuges or tourist apartments predominate in the demarcation architecturally integrated in their towns and small towns. They are the ideal shelter to combine with activities such as walks that lead to enjoy and photograph the spectacular landscape of peach trees or other fruit trees in bloom or bird watching next to the dry land of the southern regions of the demarcation closest to its capital, the city of Lleida, which has its most emblematic attraction as a privileged viewpoint: the Monumental Ensemble Turó de La Seu Vella.
Penelles and the open-air museum in which the walls of their houses have become
And if the regions of the Pyrenees of Lleida seduce us for their impressive nature and everything that accompanies us to breathe it and experience it up close, In the surroundings of the city of Lleida, the cereal fields and the sunsets show us incredible landscape postcards.
Entering for a walk looking for the old core of its towns discovers surprises such as the great treasure of Penelles. The exterior walls of their houses, which for years remained uncovered, with exposed bricks, today recreate scenes that artists have recreated in wall paintings that other neighboring towns have also wanted to carry out. Art at the service of beautifying towns and awakening reflection, art that converts small population centers, with very few inhabitants, into open air museums, an excuse to discover something that also characterizes the towns of Lleida: its gastronomy.
Enriched by an extensive variety and richness of native products, such as the D.O. of oil from Garrigues, the D.O. of the Costers del Segre wine or the I.G.P. of the Agramunt Nougat, Lleida's gastronomy is also a strategic pillar of its sustainability, of the transfer of its traditions from generation to generation, of the preservation of ancestral flavors and ways of life.
cultural centers like the Ecomuseum of the Valls d'Àneu They tell us about that past and modus vivendi. And they make it through an entertaining theatrical visit inside a country house from the beginning of the last century, in Esterri d'Àneu.
Its starry sky has also had a lot to do with the responsible tourism certification
In the village of Tuixent, the women who collected aromatic and medicinal plants in the mountains are the protagonists of the Museum of the Trementinaires. They are trips to the past following the roots that reveal a lot about our present. The Capdella Hydroelectric Museum tells us how the enormous work of channeling water from the high ponds in the Vall Fosca mountains was orchestrated to produce the electricity that gave light to so many cities and towns in Catalonia.
STORIES TO TELL
In any corner of the territory there is a story to tell, more particular, such as that of ovens recovered from ancestors, such as the Forn de Llesp, on the way to Valley of Boi; or more social, such as those made known by museums such as the Raiers of La Pobla de Segur and Coll de Nargó, who tell how the wood was transported from the forests down the river; or the Mollerussa Paper Dresses Museum, that preserves creations from the annual clothing contest made exclusively with this material.
There are many reasons for heading to the Pyrenees and the Terres de Lleida, and one is its commitment to responsible tourism that has earned its Biosphere Destination badge. The promoter of that bet, the Tourist Board of the Diputación de Lleida offers all companies linked to the tourism sector the platform Biosphere Sustainable Lifestyle to develop customized sustainability plans.
Of the hundred companies registered to be evaluated and to obtain their own sustainability certification, five have already achieved it. Three of them are in the Pallars Sobirà region: the Aigüestortes Càmping Resort campsites, in Esterri d'Àneu and Nou Càmping, in La guingueta d'Àneu and the adventure activities company, in the town of Llavorsí, Roc Roi Adventure Center. the other two are the rural tourism accommodation of Tàrrega La Torre del Codina, in the region of Urgell; and in neighboring Noguera, the receptive agency Tu i Lleida, in the municipality of Os de Balaguer.