“Not For the Faint of Heart”: Camí de la Font de l’Àrtic in Sant Julià de Lòria
Parish-A-Day Day 2: Sant Julià de Lòria
Sant Martí de Nagol
On Sunday, we ascended the Camí de la Font de l’Àrtic in Sant Julià de Lòria. How did we discover this hike? I actually knew nothing about what I was getting myself into, I just saw the fountain (Font de l’Àrctic) and a staircase from the bus one day when we were shopping at the ski outlet in Sant Julià.
What I naively expected to be a casual Valentine’s Day stroll turned into an unexpectedly difficult—perilous, even—hike, and I definitely regretted leaving my trekking poles back at my studio.
The fountain and the beginning of the trail.
The trail was quite steep, practically vertical in places. It was strewn with many loose rocks and leaves that made it very slippery. It was probably not a good sign when we passed the metal fence erected to prevent rockslides from reaching the road below. After about 30-40 minutes upward, we arrived to animal pasture with a beautiful view of the village of Sant Julia below.
“This trail is not for the faint of heart”
After frolicking in the field, we hopped back on the trail and turned the corner to find the path to a church! To get to the church, there was a rope to which you had to hold on. I consider it half a church because of the way that it was built into the side of the mountain. I’m not sure why it was built in such an inconvenient location, but like with many of the buildings in tall places, it was likely built centuries ago for a strategic view of the valley.
If you ever have the chance to go on this hike, watch where you put your hands! It might just be right onto a prickly succulent! (Didn’t know they were native to the area!)
Can you spot the church at the top?
Finally, we descended 30-40 minutes the Camí de Nogal. I didn’t think it could be worse than the way we came up. It was indeed quite challenging and rock scrambling was involved. Still very fun as we had a beautiful of the valley and came across a farm with chickens and goats.
Once we made it to the main road on flat ground, it probably took only 10 minutes to return to where we started.
I love all the opportunities to hike in Andorra! I’ve already learned my lesson, though: even if path starts right on the road, you probably still won’t forget your walking stick!
