Will there still be someone who thinks of Andorra as a mere shopping destination? what to go buy tobacco, sugar and dutch ball cheese – about which in the Netherlands they know nothing – that the prices are better or that everything is reduced to a street full of shops ?
It seems impossible (even more so after admiring the photos in this report) but, if it were the case, we open our eyes to whomever it may concern. The largest ski destination in the Pyrenees It has little or nothing to envy others historically more associated with glamour. You don't have to travel to the Alps to meet some magnificent 250 km of marked trails worthy of making the principality one of the seats of the Alpine Ski World Championships.
Nuria wears a Moncler jacket and pants and a Brixton hat, on her way to the Vodka Bar, a unique space designed by Lázaro Rosa-Violán in the heart of the Grau Roig ski resort
Among its most remote and beautiful landscapes are the Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley, Heritage of humanity by unesco , wave valley d'Incles, one of the wildest, offering different hiking trails around the lakes.
The natural parks of sorteny valley (1,080 hectares with more than 800 different species of flowers and plants) and the Comapedrosa Valley , a paradise of almost 16 square kilometers of forests, lakes and waterfalls – here is the highest peak of the principality (2,942 m) – compete in undomesticated wonders.
Coke Bartrina wears a Barbour jacket and Bellerose shirt in Andorran landscapes
But it is that Andorra offers, at the same time, a remarkable infrastructure that takes more and more care of the gastronomic aspects , especially in the Grandvalira ski resorts : Pas de la Casa, Grau Roig, Soldeu and Ordino-Arcalís.
was the known Viladomat family the pioneer in creating and improving services – Francesc Viladomat put the first teleski on the slopes of Grau Roig in 1956 – to attract a public of high purchasing power and spread the culture of the high mountains for what it is: “ An adventure seasoned with an inevitable improvisation conditioned by the weather ”, they summarize us from Epic Andorra.
This is a project by Francesc's sons, whose philosophy is promote the sport and everything related to outdoor life , give options to a traveler looking for extraordinary experiences away from the crowds . The common thread of Epic Andorra is ** las bordas **, old shepherds' houses and cabins in isolated places that have been restored with care.
Right now they have seven types of stay , from a recycled motorhome at the top of the Ordino-Arcalís slopes to some **shops in the woods around the Jaume hut **, only open in spring and summer, passing through the small Cabaneta d'Incles .
One of the rooms at L'Ovella Negra
The idea is that the traveler lives his own adventure, tailored and sustainable . Access to the huts is already a small odyssey in itself, sometimes on foot, others by retrac machine, snowmobiles, snowshoes... “And let's not forget that the mountain has its own codes: the sun, the calm, the winds and the storms play their own cards ”, they tell us.
The unpredictable is, to a certain extent, part of the fun , which is also nourished by sessions of yoga or meditation , workshops healthy food , horseback riding, biking or skiing, fishing, trekking... Recover the little to find a lot. **This idea is shared by L’Ovella Negra **, a mountain lodge in the valley of Incles , a beauty of glacial origin among the towns of The Tarter and Canillo . There go the intrepid, those who are looking for something different without leaving comfort behind.
Nuria wears an AMT sweater. Studio and skirt and scarf by Uniqlo
“Our guests appreciate the raw-luxury , namely, the simple . You don't need to see brands or a lot of decoration to feel luxury: just a good bed, perfectly ironed white sheets, merino wool blankets, good materials, dim lighting... a close deal and wake up in a lost, silent and magical place , which during lunch and dinner fills up with people and then returns to calm", he explains. Prisca Llagostera, founder of L'Ovella Negra.
Of Andorran and English blood, Prisca grew up in the mountains, studied in Lugano and London, worked in New York and, with the help of her mother, Aminda, built this place.
Nuria Val with a total look by Superdry in the Sorteny natural park
In its exquisite restaurant they serve venison stew, ribeye, trinxat, sautéed artichokes with ham and quail eggs, grilled arugula and beetroot, dressed with wine or bloody mary. For dessert, warm crumble, brownie or carrot cake.
In winter you can only get there with a retrac and on the way the adventures begin: "It's cold, windy, it's dark, the lodge is not signposted... But when you open the door, a fire, candles await... and a place that embraces us ”.
And a place that embraces us...
*This report was published in the number 135 of the Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (January) . Subscribe to the printed edition (11 printed issues and a digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The Condé Nast Traveler January issue is available in ** its digital version to enjoy it on your preferred device. **
Breakfast at Borda Puntal, next to Ordino-Arcalís, near the old route used by lumberjacks to bring down wood from the forest
Andorra in winter