Espot and The Aiguestortes National Park - Pyrenees

We arrived in Espot on a sunny Friday afternoon at the end of August. Espot is a pleasant, bustling town where locals and tourists mingle.   It is here that you take a 4x4 taxi into the Aiguestortes national park (you are not allowed to take your own car) – of course, you could walk the 8km up the road if you wished.  We stayed in the comfortable Apartments Les Picardes.  From our apartment we looked out at lovingly-tended allotments and up to the mountains.  Each evening we would wander back to the apartment passing old barns reeking of sheep and groups of elderly men and women chatting in the sun outside their ancient stone houses.      

Walk 1

  

Estany de Ratera

We took a taxi to Estany de St Maurici.  The lake is a popular destination and starting point for many walks.  It felt strange arriving in a taxi and I wondered where all the people being dropped off would go.  We began our assent up the track and the going was tough, made tougher by the fact that a taxi passed us on its way to the refuge d’Amitges, our destination, with six smiling passengers on board.  We stopped for a snack break  – it helped.  The air grew noticeably thinner.  We reached Estany de Ratera – a wilder, pretty lake with a waterfall.  

We left a lot of people behind at this point. Now the going got really tough and, as we plodded uphill, more 4x4s drove by, their tyres slipping on the rocky track, as they made their way to the refuge.  I got second wind at this point, especially when I glimpsed the refuge.  Refuge D’Amitiges is a great place with good facilities.  We ate our lunch there (melon chunks make great trekking food) and restocked with water.  Lunch tasted better due to the fact we had walked and I was pleased we hadn’t taken a taxi.  We continued up and the path grew narrower (impossible for 4X4s to make it this far) with stunning views of the lakes, which got better and better.

We arrived at Port de Ratera.  The original plan had been to climb Pic De Ratera, but time was short so we had to content ourselves with reaching the pass at 2,550 mtrs.  We took the GR11 (the long distance path that runs along the Pyrenees) – the sign close to the pass said 1.5 hours back to Estany de St Maurici – it’s wrong and should say 2.5 hours as the sign an hour along the path reads 1.5 hours!  It was a long slog down, but great scenery and we heard the high pitch warning cry of a Marmot – we didn’t spot him though.    

Walk 2

This walk was a recommendation from the friendly staff in the visitors’ centre in Espot.  Again, the starting point was Estany De St Maurici where we followed a track passing the refuge Ernest Mallafre and up to Monestero.  The scenery was spectacular as the path, which hugs a gurgling stream for most of the way, took us through meadows, woods and over boulders to arrive at Estany de Monestero where we sat and ate our lunch surrounded by high peaks.  We chatted to two Spanish walkers who were heading up to the pass and beyond.  It would have been nice to continue, but we were heading back down. 

Walk 3

Today storms were forecast, but the clouds didn’t look too ominous so we decided to head up to the mountains.  Again, the starting point was Estany De St Maurici, but the weekend crowds had departed and the lake was peaceful.  The path was mostly up, but after two days of walking I felt fairly fit.  It was another beautiful, walk with different scenery and we only saw a handful of people.  Estany de Subenuix at the top was stunning and deserted.  But we didn’t linger as it was becoming increasingly cloudy.  We were nearly down when the heavens opened, but a mountain ash provided good shelter from the rain.  We finished off the day with a walk to the cascade at Maurici, stopping to take in the view.  

On our way back to Espot the taxi driver pointed out a herd of deer.  We arrived in Espot at the same time as a thunderstorm.  It was a violent one with lots of thunder and lightning. We felt lucky to be safely indoors!   

Estany de St Maurici