Andorra

Nature

It is true that Andorra is well known for its shopping centers and its wide ski resorts. But what is the impact of this reputation? Well, while the valleys are crowded during the holidays, the remaining mountains and large forests (80% of the territory) are not much visited though it offers the interested hikers, a large range of spectacular views and tracks.

With an average altitude of 2000 m., the tiny country in the Pyrenees has 70 lakes (high in the mountains), 100 peaks of more than 2500 m., as well as 30 mountain refuges!

The Izard, the deer, the bighorn sheep live all over the country, even in protected areas. Regarding the birds , there are plenty of different species, depending on the altitude and habitats : golden eagle, bearded vulture, rock ptarmigan, Tengmalm’s owl, common rock thrush, wallcreeper, alpine chough, red-billed chough, red crossbill, alpine accentor… the list of these mythical birds is long. Nevertheless the big star of the Andorran forest is the capercaillie, which is more numerous here than anywhere else in the Pyrenees.

Culture

Geographically isolated, and protected by a frontier drawn up in 1007, the inhabitants of this old country survived thanks to a subsistence agro-pastoral system. We can still see the remains of numerous dry stone structures. Despite its small size, Andorra has the longest virgin valley in the Pyrenees: the Madriu valley was registered on the UNESCO heritage list in 2004. It still shows the ancient human remains of the last two millenniums; orris (complex of several stoned structures used during the summer) with corridors for milking the sheep, forges, charcoal burners and bordes (barns high up in the mountains to store hay and pen the animals) or other simple shelters near the footpaths for the smugglers and any people who had anything to sell in to Spain.

Situated between two important gastronomic countries, Andorra knew how to keep its traditional cuisine, though modernizing it and adding foreign product to it. This traditional Andorran cuisine offers an endless list of pork products; escudella (national soup), “mountain” rice, veal, beef, lamb and young goats bred in mountain pastures with a quality label (Carn d’Andorra), game, mushrooms…. But of course you can also have a nice fillet of duck breast, Iberian ham, sushi, and decide to try a variety of original restaurants among them, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Portuguese, French, Spanish or Italian, because in Andorra everything is possible.