La Cerdanya - Pyrenees

The Cerdanya is one of the regions for excellence in the Catalan Pyrenees, where we can enjoy nature and ski, the small villages and charming Romanesque churches.

The region of La Cerdanya is located in the large and sunny mountain valley of Segre river. This is a beautiful natural landscape of lakes, black pine forests, meadows and traditional villages of great beauty. This region is a perfect place to practice the sport in nature. Enjoy the ski in the different ski resosts: La Molina, Masella, etc.

Environmental tourism resources:

Natural Park of Cadi-Moixeró: This is one of the parks biggest in the country with more than 40,000 hectares, comprised of different pre-Pyrenees mountains and bordered by the counties of Cerdanya, Berguedà and Alt Urgell. It is located between 800 meters from the gullies into the 2650 meters the highest peak (the Vulture). These great unevenness makes the vegetation is very changeable, from alpine species to Mediterranean vegetation.

This natural area offers areas of great interest and a large number of trails, family recreation and activities. It was declared a Nature Reserve in 1983.

National Reserve Cerdanya-Alt Urgell: in the central part of the Catalan Pyrenees find this pool of more than 17000ha delimiting with Andorra in the north and the south by the river Segre. This area hosts many charming villages and untouched nature that will not leave us indifferent. Its high mountain vegetation is basically black pine and meadows. There are a large number of glacial lakes of great beauty. It is not uncommon to see some osprey, ptarmigan and golden falcon. We can access from the village of Meranges or from the Vall de la Llosa. Possibilities for all kinds of excursions for the whole family. 

 
Cultural Resources:

Romanesque works: The county of Cerdanya is in the center of the Roman road, a route that goes through different border Pyrenees region. This means that we can find a large number of religious structures in all the valleys and villages. The Romance of the region is characterized by simplicity and small size of their buildings. Highlight: Monastery of Santa Maria de Talló, Church of St. Peter of Alp, church of Sant Climent de Estana, church of Santa Eugenia de Nerell, scrap etc Llívia Castle.

Llívia: the particularity of this village is that it is located in French territory for over 400 years. However, the town maintains its ties with Catalonia and the old town retains significantly the structure and architecture Cerdanya. This is considered of cultural interest, thanks to the charm of its buildings and streets made of stone, slate and wood. The most prominent buildings are the church of Our Lady of the Angels, Llívia Castle, Tower of Bernat de So the old pharmacy and Esteve (dated 1415).

Puigcerdà: the capital of the district is offering an important business, with lots of shops, bars and recreational areas for the whole family. We must not forget its historic center and various buildings like the church of St.. And St. Julian. Andrea, the Bell Tower of San. Mary, Town Hall, etc.. On the other side of Lake Schierbeck Puigcerdà and gardens are a very beautiful natural area for walking and play.

Charming villages: In this area there are a lot of small towns that stand out for their preservation and which have not been affected by tourism in recent decades. You have to walk and enjoy the traditional life of these places to discover the most authentic Cerdanya: Llers, Arànser, Pi, Meranges, Eller, Talltendre, etc.



Traditional Celebrations and activities:

Festa del Llac, Puigcerdà: at the end of August, the people of Puigcerdà lives one of the most anticipated days of the year and encouraged. The people were dressed for a party and an entirely unique centennial with a parade of floats as the main element and all costumed participants. In front of this is the Vella de l'Estany, a mythological character of the area. The festival is full of color and screaming and finally ends with a stunning fireworks on the lake.

Carnival: the Cerdanya County proudly maintains one of the most traditional of the territory and that every year all towns of the region take to the streets to enjoy one of the most unique carnivals. As in other carnivals in the Pyrenees, include various fantasy characters such as Porquera the Cenred, the king of the cuckolds, Burricot, etc. This is celebrated from Holy Thursday to Ash Wednesday. During these days people dress up to participate in various events of the carnival.

Other interesting festivities and cultural events: Easter meeting Talló (Bellver de Cerdanya) Canigó fires and flame on the night of San Juan in several populations, Bellver de Cerdanya Fair (October), Puigcerdà Fair (November), Festival Llívia Music International (August to December).

Weekly markets:

• Monday: Martinet
• Tuesday: Ur
• Wednesday: Er
• Thursday: Bellver de Cerdanya, OSSEJA
• Friday: Martinet and Saillagouse (Pl Cerdanya)
• Saturday: Alp, Llívia
• Sunday: Puigcerdà
   

Active tourism

The Cerdanya gives us the ability to perform all kinds of sport throughout the year in an incomparable natural environment. Sports par excellence of this district are hiking in summer and snow sports in winter.

The hiking and mountain bike enthusiasts have a wide range of trails and routes of different difficulty levels. Include long-distance routes and great interest such as the route of the Cathars (GR107) and the path Cavalls dels Vents.

Also interesting are the following excursions suitable for the whole family:

• Hiking in the Prat del Cadi (from the town of Estana one hour).
• Hiking Malniu Lake (the town of Meranges out a forest trail to the shelter there Malniu a 45-minute walk to the lake at 2240m of altitude ).
• Hiking to the lakes of the Pera.
• We can also use the cable car to La Molina for hiking or enjoy the Bike Park offers summer season. Enjoy the bike and falls in all the elements installed for this sport. 

Other activities that can be performed in summer are the horse or pony rides, trips on quad bikes, adventure park in the trees, ice rink, tubbing, fishing, paragliding.

In winter the most important sporting activities is skiing. For alpine skiing have the resorts of La Molina and Masella, skiing in Arànser station, Lles de Cerdanya and Guils and Fontanera. We can also enjoy other winter sports such as snowboarding, dog sledding, sleds, snowshoeing, mountain skiing, tubbing, etc.

During autunm is also an ideal place to look for mushrooms.

 

Near to La Cerdanya - Pyrenees

French Cerdanya: the historical division of the Treaty of the Pyrenees made the 17TH century marked the division of the territory. However, high Cerdanya and low Cerdanya maintain strong ties and its proximity makes that we can enjoy all its attractions: 

• Hot springs: La Cerdanya francesa offers different spaces where you can enjoy hot water to more than 1400 meters altitude and in a stunning natural environment: Les Bains de Llo, Balneo of Llo, Bains romaines de Dorres , Bainter of Saint Thomas, etc. 
• Le train Jaune: tourist train with much history that unites various peoples and we enjoy diverse landscapes. Declared world heritage by Unesco. 
• Ski stations: Font-Romeu, Bolquère-Pyrénées 2000, 2900 Puigmal, Porté-Puymorens, Eyne-St.Pierre.

Vall de Núria: Located at 2,000 meters high and  surrounded by high mountains, this valley is one of the most important and famous tourist destinations in Catalonia thanks to its superb landscape and to house the shrine of Núria, place of pilgrimage since the twelfth century . The rivers, springs, paths and mountains invite us to enjoy this peaceful space throughout the year. In winter you can ski, in summer there are plenty of activities for the whole family: horseback riding, mini golf, fun park, picnic area. Access to the valley is made by the rack which has a distance of 12.5 km and a vertical drop of 1000 meters. We can take the train in the station of Ribes-Enllaç, Ribes-Vila and Queralbs all of them with free parking.

Natural Park of Pedraforca: integrated within the natural park of Cadí-Moixeró, this Massif is one of the symbols of catalan mountaineering and is an ideal space to enjoy hiking and enjoy its magnificent natural surroundings. It is accessible from the village of Saldes and Góssol.

Ripoll: Has an important historical past Capital of the comarca of the Ripollès in Catalonia medieval and Romanesque. We can find a lot of places of cultural interest, cfor example Santa María de Ripoll, the Farga Palau, monastery or Scriptorium (production of copy of manuscripts in Santa Maria de Ripoll between the 10th and 12th centuries).

• ski and snow sports in the ski resorts of Vallnord, Grand Valira, Pal Arinsal, Ordino Arcalís, Pas de la Casa, Soldeu el Tarter.
• Great cultural offerings, from Romanesque churches to festivals of jazz and theater. 
• Shopping and relaxation at their wellness spaces.