Aigüestortes, a spectacular Pyrenees for families
ROMANESQUE AND TRADITIONS BETWEEN MOUNTAINS: WEEKEND
Knowing the working conditions of the miners during the first half of the 19th century in the Victoria Mine is a very interesting way of approaching the first day in the Val d'Aran and its traditions, even more so if we add to this that part of the route is made between pine and fir trees and that it is an area inhabited by the endemic Pyrenean newt . Once the route is over, the churches of Sant Miquèu de Vielha and Santa Maria de Les Tredòs. And if, after completing the day with the Bossòst exhibitions of the Museum of the Val d'Aran , in Vielha, you have plenty of time, you can go to a wool factory to discover its traditional production process.
Church in the Vall de Boí area.
On the second day you can either opt for a guided tour of the Vall de Boí or visit the Esterri de los Valls d'Àneu eco-museum , which is not a single building as such, but several buildings scattered throughout the territory in order to explain the past and present of the environment. It would be unforgivable if he left the area without knowing the escape routes of Jewish refugees through the Pyrenees of Lleida during the Second World War, framed within the Persecuted and Saved project.
THE ESSENTIALS: 4 DAYS
After approaching the Vall d'Aran Museum and the wool factory, the best thing to do is complete the first day with a walk, snowshoes, snowmobiles or a 4x4 along the Aiguamòg riverbank until reaching the Banhs de Tredòs spa, if what you are looking for is adrenaline. The quieter ones can substitute this activity for that of going quietly sitting on a helicopter with the Val d'Aran from a bird's eye view or, perhaps, change the perspective and see the Catalan sky from a telescope while a tasting of liqueurs from the Pyrenees is carried out.
Homemade jams from Agrobotiga de Barruera.
If the weather is good, the morning of the second day could start in the most exciting way practicing heli-ski and, without abandoning the solid element, ending the day with an igloo making workshop. Depending on the season, you can do different activities for all ages in the Aigüestortes and Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. What cannot be missed in the area is the intriguing deer bellowing (includes bike descent from Beret) .
The third day will be dedicated to High Pyrenees Natural Park , as well as to enjoy river activities, such as fly fishing, canoeing or the newest hydrospeed. The balloon flight from Rialp can end with a culinary workshop in Surp or a tasting of local wines and cheeses in the Tros de Sort cheese factory. The fourth day, dedicated to the Romanesque of the Vall de Boí, will be completed with a visit to a uranium mine in Castell-Estaó or with a workshop on elaboration of ratafia in La Pobla de Segur.
Aigüestortes National Park
EXPERIENCE THE HIGH PYRENEES AND THE VAL D´ARAN: 6 DAYS
Living the region means that instead of adding many more activities to those already mentioned, these are spread out more during the six days, so that there is some time to enjoy its calm, its pleasures, its lifestyle in short. In this way we can add, for example, the first day, a tasting visit to the Nacarii caviar producer , a stop on the second day in the Tocineria Casanovas to buy sausages, botifarras and homemade pâtés . On the third and fourth day we will taste the cheeses from Tarrau de Bagergue and from a mountain cheese factory in Surp, respectively; the fifth is the turn of the sausages from Xolis d'Adons and the sixth day is perfect to indulge in other worldly pleasures, such as spa treatments Resort d'Espot or mud therapy at the Caldes de Boí spa (check opening dates).
* This article has been published in Monographic number 80. Remember that, in addition to your usual kiosk and with the June issue, the monograph on Catalonia is on sale in digital format on Zinio .
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Roman with the measures of the bread in the centennial oven of Llesp.
Snowy peaks of the Aran Valley