Val d'Aran - Vielha
In the Aran Valley, you can breathe well-being, well-off people, everything is orderly and clean. The roads and tracks in the mountains are in very good condition. It is noted that they enjoy a standard of living higher than the average in Catalonia. It is noted that there are only about 10,000 inhabitants in 620 km2. It is also noted that they are located very far from urban areas and only those who can afford it visit them.
Before 1948, the year in which the Vielha tunnel was completed, they were isolated and had a subsistence economy. When the port of Bonaigua was blocked by snow, they could only leave in the direction of Occitania, following the course of the Garonne River.
The Vall d'Aran faces the Atlantic, which makes its forests noticeably different from those of the rest of Catalonia, which is southern.
Today, the Aran Valley lives mainly from tourism, which represents 80% of its GDP. Its educational system is in Aranese, Catalan, Spanish, French and English. In addition, its baccalaureate is compatible with the Spanish and French educational systems.
The Aran Valley wants to be more than simply the Baqueira Beret ski resort, which almost sold a million ski passes in 136 days during the 2022-2023 season. It seeks to become a tourist destination suitable for all ages and appealing all year round. It certainly has the capabilities to achieve it, it is an exceptional site.
Vielha - the capital
Arties - hot springs
Salardú entrance door to the Colomers mountain cirque
The Colomers cirque, formed by 48 lakes with crystal clear waters, black pine and spruce forests, and impressive mountains that rise nearly 3,000 meters, make this glacial cirque and its valley an essential place during our stay in the Aran Valley.
Saut del Pish in the Varradós Valley
The Saut deth Pish, which is located half an hour from Vielha by paved road, has two waterfalls: the upper one is about 15 m. high and the lower one about 5 m. The water comes from the Long Lake of Liat and comes out through a karst course at the Era Pila source in the Siesso ravine.
Uelhs deth Joeu
The eyes of the devil or Jupiter are spectacular waterfalls fed by the waters of the Aneto glacier. The waters that melt from the glacier disappear in the Forau d'Aigualluts in the Benasque Valley and reappear in the Arán Valley, after a 4 km underground journey. An excursion worth dedicating a whole day to.
The burning of Eth Haro in Les
In Les, they celebrate the solstice during the night of Sant Joan with the burning of eth Haro, a fir tree placed the previous year in the middle of the square. This tradition is part of the Pyrenees fire festivals, recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2015.
