Andorra is a small country sandwiched between Spain to its south and France to its north. The country lies within the Pyrenees mountain range, isolating it from the surrounding world. It is best known for its ski resorts in the winter months and its many hiking trails in the summer.
With it being only a two-hour drive from Toulouse, France (where I was studying for the semester), I knew I had to find a weekend to visit Andorra. I guess a couple others were thinking the same thing, because before I knew it, there was a group of seven of us driving south to the Pyrenees in two rental cars for the weekend.
The main goal with this Andorra trip was to do some hiking through the mountains. We left Saturday morning from Toulouse, headed straight to our first trailhead - Estanys de Juclar. We did NOT know what we were about to get ourselves into...
The idea was that we'd hike up about 2 hours to the end of the trail, where we'd be greeted by a shining lake surrounded by mountain tops all around. What we didn't realize was just how much ground would still be covered in snow in late March. Or at least I had no idea there'd still be that much snow this time of year, although in retrospect, why wouldn't there still be snow at the literal peaks of the mountains?? Anyway, as we started our hike up the trail, we'd encounter patches of snow followed by patches of soil or rock. Trekking the solid ground was fun. It felt like we were on our way through a grand adventure, with unexpected treasures laying ahead.
Trekking through the snow on the other hand - my worst nightmare. Mind you, we were all wearing some variation of sneakers, T-shirts, and shorts/pants. I had on a pair of mesh Nike's, workout joggers from Gymshark, a blue Patagonia shirt, and a light rainjacket. None of us were prepared to walk through the snow. We made the most of it though, taking our time through the snowy bits and thoroughly enjoying the solid bits. At one point early in our hike, we came across a nice camp site with cold, fresh water available from a faucet. It was honestly a really cool spot with some nice views both down into the valley and up toward the mountain peaks. I made sure to splash some cold water on my face before we continued on our way.
Further up the trail, we came across a cool pond that was home to some frogs and a bunch of tadpoles. This was also starting to be the part of our trek where the ground was more snow than soil, which made for some stressful and nerve-racking ascents. A little further up, we came across a beautiful waterfall that fed into the streams we had passed by below.
Not too long after, we finally reached a point in the hike where the snow became so steep and deep that I decided it wouldn't be wise for me to continue onward. A couple of the others agreed and stayed back with me to take in the stunning views that the landscape provided for us. A few of the crazy ones decided they wanted to continue to the end to see the lake. Huge emphasis on the "crazy" part.
My group hung out on at this viewpoint area for about an hour or so relaxing, eating some snacks, and enjoying the view. Eventually we decided to head back down before the sun got too low, and my goodness, walking through the snow on the way down was 10x more nerve-racking than it was on the way up. On the ascension, at least if I had to get down on all fours to scale the snow, I could. But on the descension, my only choice was to maintain my balance to scoot through it on my butt. I seriously did not think I'd make it back alive.
Eventually we made it back to the cars, after what was likely an hour or two. And a little while later, the crew that went off on their own up toward the lake made it back in once piece as well. As they told us what remained on the trail after we stopped, I was glad I didn't continue on with them. They said there were parts where the snow was up to their hips, and when they got to the lake, it was completely frozen over. No surprise there, but I'm glad I got to see the pictures they took of the parts I missed out on seeing myself. We finished the night back at the hostel, with pizzas and beer for dinner before showering and crashing in bed.
Sunday was a lot less hectic. We started the day exploring the capital city of Andorra la Vella, a quaint place to walk around and shop. There were lots of stores selling huge bottles of liquor, watches, guns, fragrances, and of course typical souvenirs. There was also a stream that ran through the city with a pleasant trail alongside it. In the afternoon, we were going to attempt another trail, but as we started driving up the switchbacks to the trailhead, we were met with a blockade in the road: snow. Apparently it was still too early in the year for this part of the road to be cleared, so there were still people skiing down the slopes right up to where we could drive our car.
We ended up just driving around for a bit until we found a trail off the side of the main road. It ended up being a cool spot to walk through, with several sculptures placed about and even a small horse pen next to a stone building in the middle of nowhere. We spent a couple hours walking along this trail and stopping occasionally to take photos or fool around. And as the sun set behind the mountains, we said goodbye to Andorra and were on our way back to Toulouse.
I have to say, my favorite part of being in Andorra was just how crisp and fresh the air felt. It was nothing like I'd ever experienced before. It just felt pure up there in the mountains, and I absolutely loved it.