The Pyrenees mountain range separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe, stretching more than 430 km between Spain and France and rising higher than 3,400m in elevation. Hiking trails traverse the entire length of the range and national parks offer shorter trails.
We came to hike the glacial lake-filled Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park and see the Encantats, mountain peaks that top three thousand metres and the 200-plus lakes dotting the area.
Located between the regions of Pallars Sobirà and La Alta Ribagorça, the 105 square kilometres of Aigüestortes is the only national park of Catalonia. As its name suggests, one of its characteristics is water, which can be found in all its states and forms: rivers, waterfalls, ponds, glacial valleys.
Its most famous lake is the Lake of Sant Maurici, which is the area we hiked and is found at the foot of the park’s most mythical mountain: The Encantats, a fragmented calcareous rock formation which is said to be the silhouette of two hunters cursed by the divine powers when they went to hunt chamois (a type of deer).
The park is also home to various species of significant ecological value, and the vegetation changes according to the altitude, from Mediterranean forests in the lower parts of the hike to alpine landscapes. The fir tree and mountain pine forests, the alpine pastures and the scree-slopes are home to animals such as the capercaillie, the chamois, the marmot or the bearded vulture.
We spent several ours hiking here and took a Land Rover which we hired in the village of Espot to get us to the starting point. Well worth the visit.
We started our hiking at close to 3,000 metres and continued up. We found the hiking to be quite easy even though we were hiking at altitude and spent close to five hours before making our way back to were we began to wait for our ride back to Espot. For me, this was certainly one of the hiking highlights of my life and when we made it back to Espot, we found a great local tavern and watched Spain play Manchester in a soccer match surrounded by fanatical Spaniards. A great way to end the visit..
The gallery of photos below are chronologically uploaded so you can see the hike as we hiked it…
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