Hi everyone! I haven't been around much lately (too much work!) but I still love this site and I'll ...
Hi everyone! I haven't been around much lately (too much work!) but I still love this site and I'll be back as soon as I can!
Member since:05.03.2001
Reviews:21
Members who trust:21
People who have lived in Andorra for a long time can’t but nostalgically remember the green fields just in the centre of town, mountain tracks, some of those are now unavailable for nature lovers, and the whole of the village atmosphere they once enjoyed.
Most of them complain just for the fun of it; the new economy and duty-free shopping made most of them unbearably rich. But what do we care? We visitors are poor and the central shopping streets offer no landscape. You can actually enjoy the sensation of having the forest all over the place, in the centre of town the mountains seem walls covered with trees and that make them similar to what you always imagined to be hanging gardens, hanging forests. But if you do not raise the head it’s all people shopping, cars in traffic jams, shops and shops and shops and us trying to find best prices...
Let’s
get away from them and their shopping bags full of cheap licor, cheap cigarettes and other nice staff that doesn’t particularly interest us at time being. We didn’t come here to get stressed. We came to relax, walk and enjoy what we can.
If it’s winter you most certainly will go skiing. Skiing, snowboarding, toboganning and all kinds of possible winter sports are available at the five ski resorts. I’ve been to three of them, Pas de la Casa – Grau Roig, Soldeu El Tarter and Pal. I certainly prefer Pas de La Casa – Grau Roig, especially when you get to the slopes by Funicamp, the telepheric which provides excellent views and saves time.
While looking for information about Andorra for this opinion (I can’t remember all the names and routes correctly so I had to check them on the web) I discovered that the skiing tradition in Andorra started 75 years ago when a village postman discovered that using the same wooden things as the French guys he could move around much faster...
Read a couple of opiions on skiing in Andorra in the skiing section, they are quite good and helpful. You can usually ski till the second week of April, unfortunately not this year: it’s really hot and that’s not the best thing that can happen to the snow.
If it’s late spring, summer or autumn, there’s a huge variety of paths and touristic routes to follow. One thing I have to tell you, to see the best of Andorra you have to be fit. All the most spectacular routes, all the peaks, the Madriu Valley, almost everything worth seeing is not accessible by car or coach: it has to be walking or mountain bike. All the natural riches there must have been are quite destroyed by an impersonal row of shops...
You can get the information about the bikes routes in any tourist information office, there are a lot of them everywhere and people working in them are very nice. I’ll just list the easiest and those I prefer. One of the most dramatic sceneries is offered by the Incles Valley, situated not far from the village of Canillo.The three routes I would recommend you to folow from there lead to lakes: Juclar, Siscaró and Cabana Sorda. I prefer the route to Juclar, it takes about two hours if you are really slow, otherwise less, and the lake in itself is a real marvel of nature. There are special houses for those who want to stay for the night (free accomodation in a beautiful environment is nice stuff) next to almost all the spectacular lakes of Andorra. Juclar has the biggest one in the country.
The route I consider the easiest and also quite nice leads to the tree lakes of Tristaina, that is not far from a cosy little town of Ordino.
If you have never tried horse-riding, Aldosa (just before you arrive to La Massana) is probably one of the best places to start. Horses are calm and landscape lovely. Take some friends with you, it is great fun. You have to book in advance.
I’ve never been to the adventure sports area in Cortals, but they say it’s hilarious. Another good thing to do if you go with friends is to organize a hockey party. In Canillo, there is a Palace Of Ice (I~m translating from Catalan, maybe in the brochures, in English, it has a different name, but there is only one big building in Canillo, on the left-hand side – you cannot miss it).
Visit Caldea, a thermal water and spa centre, almost always crowded, but big fun.
Engolasters has a nice night view of the town, and at daytime theres a forest to walk in, a lake (though artificial and not half as beautiful as the mountain lakes are) and two excellent cheap restaurants. Talking about food, the best places to have dinner are Casa Canut (just in the centre of Andorra, excellent but quite expensive), Refugi de La Fondue in Arinsal (I think they only open in winter) and La Borda Chica in La Massana. Be sure to book a table in advance no matter where you decide to eat.
I am no professional guide to Andorra, and there are lots of things I know nothing about. It is certainly worth visiting if you love mountains and sports. In the cultural aspect only the Romanesque churches seem to be of some interest. "San Roma de les Bons" in Encamp is of great sentimental value for me and I find the complex really and touchingly beautiful.
If you decide to go, you can find some useful information about Andorra in www.aol.ad. The Yahoo Travel people are as good as always, but they haven’t been to the nicest places. Have a good holiday.
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Brings back some great memories of my visit there while in Spain a couple of years ago...very cheap drink too!! Great opinion and reminded me of why I liked it there.
sue.51 05.08.2001 17:55
I wanted to visit on our recent visit to a nearby region of Spain - but the other half wasn't having any of it.
Sue
timmyotoole 05.06.2001 12:20
A great op on a place I've always fancied visiting. This has fuelled my desire. Timmy.
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Mar 24th, 2001
(May 21st, 2001)
very helpful by (100%):
