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© Lonely Planet Publications 62 Andorra HIGHLIGHTS Grandvalira Slip-slide your way over the most extensive snowfields in the Pyrenees ( p66 ) Caldea Steep yourself in the warm mineral waters of this space-age spa complex ( p68 ) Off-the-beaten track Tramp a sample of the walking trails that thread through the princi- pality, especially above Ordino ( p68 ) and Soldeu ( p66 ) FAST FACTS Area 468 sq km (that’s 2½ times smaller ANDORRA ANDORRA than Paris) Budget €50 to €70 per day Capital Andorra la Vella Country code %376 Famous for skiing, shopping, smuggling Languages Catalan (but nearly everyone knows Spanish) Money euro (€); A$1 = €0.55; C$1 = 0.60; ¥100 = €0.78; NZ$1 = €0.43; UK£1 = €1.12; US$1 = €0.74 Phrases hola (hello), adéu (goodbye), Population 81,200 si us plau (please), gràcies (thanks) Visas none required TRAVEL HINT Skiing and summer walking packages (eg offered by UK tour operators, usually including flights) are cheaper than going solo. Once here, use Andorra as a springboard for Mediterranean travels. ROAMING ANDORRA To really savour Andorra, put on your walking boots and get out of Andorra la Vella, hub for all bus routes. People may tell you Andorra’s all skiing and shopping. They might add that Andorra la Vella, its capital and only town, is a fuming traffic jam bordered by palaces of consumerism (fact: Andorra has more than 2000 shops – roughly one for every 40 inhabitants). They’re partly right but also very wrong. Shake yourself from Andorra la Vella’s tawdry em- brace, take one of the state’s only three secondary roads and discover some of the most dramatic scenery in all the Pyrenees. Go soon, though; it may not be the same in a few years. Greed and uncontrolled development risk spoiling those side valleys. Already the pounding of piledrivers drowns out the winter thrum of ski lifts and threatens the silence of summer. What’s sure is that this minicountry, wedged between France and Spain, offers by far the best skiing in the Pyrenees (tourism, mainly skiing, accounts for around 60% of the country’s GDP). In the last few years, Andorra has invested well over €100 million in mountain cafes and restaurants, lifts, car parks, snowmaking machines and hotels. And once the snows have melted, there’s great walking in abundance, ranging from hands-in-pockets strolling to demanding day hikes in the principality’s higher, more remote reaches. lonelyplanet.com 0 5 km ANDORRA 0 3 miles To Ax-les-Thermes (21km); Estanys de Toulouse (155km) Tristaina PARISH OF ORDINO F R A N C E Borda de ANDORRA Sorteny Pic de la Serrera Ordino-Arcalís (2913m) Ski Area El Serrat Collada dels Meners CG3 Estany de (2713m) l'Estanyó Estanys de Estanys de Llorts (2339m) PARISH OF Juclar l'Angonella Pic de CANILLO Pic de Coma l'Estanyó Port de Pedrosa Riu Bordes de (2915m) Baiau (2942m) l'Ensegur N20 (2756m) Valira (2180m) L'Hospitalet Refugi de Arans Coma Pic de El Tarter Pedrosa La Cortinada Casamanya Soldeu Estany de del (2740m) S P A I N les Truites Arinsal d'Orient Nord Canillo Soldeu-El Col de Arinsal Coll Tarter Ski Area Valira Puymorens d'Ordino Ski Area CG2 (1980m) Riu PARISH OF Erts Les Bordes LA MASSANA Ordino Segudet d'Envalira Port Port de La d'Envalira Cabús Pal Massana (2408m) Encamp Pas de Pal Ski Area la Casa PARISH OF Grau Roig CG3 ENCAMP Ski Area Pas de la CG2 Pic de Carroi Casa Ski Area (2334m) Engordany Pic d'Enclar ANDORRA (2382m) LA VELLA Les Escaldes Portella Blanca Capella de Sant CG1 Estany To Latour-de-Carol (16km); Vincenç d'Enclar ESCALDES-ENGORDANY Estany de PARISH OF ANDORRA LA VELLAPARISH OF de l'Illa Montmalús Perpignan (130km) Santa Coloma PARISH Port de Vall OF SANT CG1 Civera JULIÀ DE Sant Julià (2518m) LÒRIA de Lòria Aixirivall Riu Gran Valira S P A I N To La Seu d'Urgell (10km); Naturlandia-La Rabassa 63 Barcelona (215km) La Farga de Moles Cross-Country Ski Area ANDORRA ANDORRA.