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Before the snow falls

By Tracey Davies

Famed for its winter sports and tax-free shopping, the last thing Andorra does is sleep during its summer months. I take a peek at what my favourite skiing destination has to offer before the snow falls.

For centuries Andorra in the summer months has attracted hikers of all ranks. The cool mountain temperatures and dry, bright sunshine makes walking here a pure delight. Just ten minutes drive from the capital of Andorra La Vella and we are at the base of the Vall d’Incles range in the parish of Canillo and the start of our mornings trek. Embarking on a gentle stroll through the lowlands, Mark our knowledgeable guide points out wild herbs and indigenous flora, tasting the sweet, wild celery and bitter mountain spinach along the way.

Strolling through the bracken with only birdsong and a knobbly stick for company, I can see why people enjoy this peaceful pastime. The cool, clean, intensely oxygenated air is the equivalent of a high colonic for my city-clogged lungs. An hour and half later and we are climbing the final incline, our destination in sight. Joyfully collapsing at the peak we are rewarded with some magnificent views of France.

Proudly drinking in the glorious vista and taking the obligatory photograph, we are interrupted by the beeps of mobile phones welcoming us to France; it is the twenty-first century equivalent to sticking in our flag.

Wandering back, Mark tells us about a rare bird of prey found in the Pyrenees. The Lammergeier, which translates simply as the lamb vulture. It’s smaller than other vultures and lives mainly on the bones left behind from ravaged carcasses. Earning the sinister nickname of ‘The Bone Dropper’, it cleverly drops bones on to rocks from a great height in order to smash them into manageable chunks. The Lammergeier is a funny old bird, with slight cross-dressing and bisexual tendencies. To make himself pretty the male bird likes to rub up against rocks containing iron oxide in order to colour his white feathered chests in an orange ‘make-up’ to attract a mate or mates. Although supposedly monogamous, the male often brings a lover to the nest, usually much younger and of the same sex, forming a ménage a trois with his mate and mother of his eggs. This bone-eating, bisexual, transvestite is sadly on the decline, no doubt the victim of women scorned.

The Pyrenees are home to some eclectic wildlife, the Isard, a mountain antelope, deer and goats are often spotted, but also the rarer European brown bear is known to live in these parts, sadly only a handful are left, but looking for bear prints gives an exciting edge to our trek.

All this exercise has built up a ferocious appetite, and as there are no bones for dropping, we lunch at Borda de l’Horto, a Borda restaurant in Canillo. As with traditional Borda’s, the restaurant is a transformed animal barn, decorated rustically with exposed brickwork and stone flooring. Both the garlicky snails and goats cheese salad appetisers were enough for a table of four, and my monkfish in marinara sauce is so good it could have come straight from the harbour side kitchens of La Rochelle. In general the food in Andorra is exceptional; it truly benefits from its location and is heavily influenced by the neighbouring culinary giants of France and Spain. Here at the Borda de l’Horto, the quality and quantity is so great I feel the need to walk back to France to work it all off.

In the warmer months, Andorra’s mountain ski resorts are a mecca for adrenaline hungry sports enthusiasts who arrive, en mass from all over Europe to take part in one of the many extreme sports it has to offer. From quad-biking to canyoning to mountain-biking down the black runs. The resort of Vallnord is very different in the summer. With the obvious lack of the white stuff, the slopes seem naked and rough. Mottled with green grass and rock-strewn tracks, it is ideal terrain for the summer activities the resort offers.

This weekend, mountain biking is Vallnord’s sport du jour. With a throng of muscular lycra-clad bikers speeding down the slopes of the Pyrenees the name ‘mountain bike’ has never seemed more appropriate. Loaded up with their majestic machines, they take a gondola to the top of the mountain and then hurl themselves down it. It is an amazing sight to see, and from our swaying carriage we could see brightly coloured helmets whizzing down the mountainside. From the bright-eyed, mud-smeared grins of those who take part, it looks like amazing fun.

Vallnord’s summer activities are available from June until September and cater for the whole family. From careering down the nursery slopes on a go-cart, to quad biking up the rough and ready tracks to the peak, horse-riding, archery and trampolining are all available. Throw in a good restaurant, a decent café bar and all that fresh mountain air and it makes a perfect day out, and it is good to see that these marvellous mountains are not wasted during the summer months.

From Vallnord we take a take a helicopter ride over the Pyrenees. It costs approximately 50 euro for a ten minute flight but is more than worth it, and for me a real highlight. From our bobbing chopper in the sky, we spot hidden mountain lakes and wave at the more adventurous climbers as they reach the still snow-capped peaks. This birds eye view over putting-green smooth hills speckled with flat, granite-grey rocks is truly magnificent and I can now see why the Lammergeier drops its bones, not just to break them, but in total awe of the scenery from this height.

Summertime in Andorra is a delightful time to visit. Walk the reams of perfect Pyrenean peaks, canyon down the deepest gorges or swim in the mineral-clear mountain lakes. Try a new sport such as archery or quad biking, or of course, the adrenaline-frenzied sport of tax-free shopping.

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