Snowshoeing in Andorra

Andorra is a unique place. Entirely surrounded by France and Spain the midst of the High Pyrenees. Within Europe but not in the EU, Catalan speaking but apart from Catalonia, Andorra is a small place of immense contradictions. More significantly for our purposes its mountainous terrain offers some great snow cover and opportunities to get away from everything snowshoeing through the peaceful mountains.

We fly to Barcelona on the Catalan coast and drive up through steadily more mountainous terrain and into the high peaks of Andorra. We are based in Ordino, the main town of Ordino parish which borders France. The town sits under the impressive Casamanya mountain reaching up to 2740m.  Our centrally located hotel is ideal for exploring the town and fortunately Andorra is a small place so we never have to travel far to enjoy our snowshoeing.

We might start with a gentle exploration of the Sorteny Natural Park. Look out for animal tracks in the snow: hares, foxes and pine martin tracks are commonly seen. Fortunately we have a local guide each day to explain the differences between the tracks to the uninitiated. We will head off towards the Salamandra lakes with views of the main valley leading up to France. The Incles valley offers great walking and an historic dimension as the French resistance guided refugees out of France down the valley during WWII. 

Each day offers something a little different. We are generally walking at around 1800- 2200m so have an excellent chance of good snow covering, Obviously in these days of climate change nothing can be guaranteed but our chances are good. The highest point we hope to reach is at 2400m at Cirque du Pessons.

As with all winter activities snow cannot be guaranteed. However, the walks are equally spectacular on snowshoes or walking boots. It is important to note that like all winter activities there is an element of weather dependence. Please take this itinerary as a guide to what walks we might do. The day to day itinerary will be chosen to make the best of the conditions.