After my week of beach-hopping and island-hopping through the Mediterranean on Mallorca and Menorca, I wanted a change of scenery and made my way back to mainland Europe to visit my 34th country of Andorra, a tiny little country nestled on the French-Spanish border in the heart of the Pyrenees.
After my first few days in Andorra where I hiked up to Estany Primer de Juclar (one of the happiest days I've ever had in the mountains), I made a quick trip over to Lisbon, before returning to Andorra for one last hike of my holidays.
The entire country of Andorra - one of the smallest in the world - is pretty much all mountains and there are plenty of hiking trails to discover within these ranges. A reliable and regular bus systems connects the capital of Andorra la Vella to almost every nearby town in the country where many of the trails begin. I hopped on a bus to Ordino and then a smaller shuttle bus to Llorts from where this hike begins.
While this trail was one of the hardest I've ever hiked with a 1000 metre vertical climb straight up the mountain, it was incredible and rewarding and everything I want from a beautiful day in the mountains with the trail reaching four beautiful lakes.
ESTANYS DE L'ANGONELLA HIKE DETAILS
When: June to September
Where: Llortes, Andorra
Difficulty: hard, 1000 metre vertical climb
Length: from the bus stop in Llorts, it's an 11km roundtrip hike which took me 3.5 hours
Directions: from the Llorts bus stop, go past the church and up the hill to find the trail straight up the mountain, following the orange painted dots and the occasional sign for Estanys de L'Angonella. You can grab a great map and directions for free from the information centre in Ordino.
Bathrooms: no
Public Transit: yes, take the L6 bus from Andorra La Vella to Ordino for 1,20 euros each way, then take the small shuttle bus to Llorts for 0,20 euros each way.
