Arans, halfway up the Ordino valley

Arans is the Ordino village most people drive straight through, between La Cortinada and Llorts. It has no listed church and no museum, and I won’t dress it up as something it isn’t. What it does have is a good walk of its own and a stretch of the old iron path lined with open-air art.

A village halfway up the valley

Arans is one of the villages the Comú d’Ordino lists for its parish, Ordino. It sits on the CG-3 above La Cortinada and below Llorts, and the council puts the start of its walk from the village at 1,360 m. To eat, the council’s tourism website lists a restaurant on avinguda de l’Ensegur serving home cooking with gluten-free, lactose-free and fructose-free options, and to stay, an aparthotel and holiday flats.

Without a car it takes a little planning. National bus L6 ends at La Cortinada, a bit further down, so the last stretch to Arans is by parish bus or a short walk along the royal road. I think that’s the ideal way to do the valley, leaving the car in Andorra la Vella after your transfer from Toulouse or Barcelona.

The Men of Iron sculptures

The royal road from Ordino passes through Arans on its way to Llorts. According to the tourist board, once past the village you follow the Men of Iron signs and meet a series of sculptures up to the Vilaró de Llorts rest area, just before the last piece and a short way from the mine. It’s the finest stretch of the iron route, which honours the muleteers who carried ore down to the forges. The six works are by artists from several countries, and the route is part of a cross-border Pyrenean iron trail recognised by the Council of Europe, the council says. I’d walk it uphill and finish with a booked visit to the mine.

The Ensegur barns loop

This walk is the real reason to stop. The council describes a circular outing from the village through the Font del Pi woods to the Ensegur saddle and on to its barns. The descent drops into the valley at Llorts, from where the royal road leads back to Arans, or you can catch the parish bus. It’s 7.8 km, 510 m of ascent and about three and a half hours, with no water on the way, so fill your bottle first. The Ensegur barns also appear near the end of the council’s hard 22 km Llorts circuit, a sign that they’re a classic landmark on this side of the valley. The tourist board keeps its higher routes for high summer, and I’d follow that advice here too. For more routes, see hiking in Andorra.

Is Arans worth a stop?

On its own, probably not for long. As a stage on a day spent walking the Ordino valley, yes. Pair it with La Cortinada below and Llorts above, and the Men of Iron path gives the morning a clear thread from one village to the next.