Comapedrosa, 2,942 metres above Arinsal

Most people searching for Andorra’s highest mountain want a number, and the number is 2,942 m. But Comapedrosa is much more than its summit. It’s a whole natural park that begins where Arinsal’s houses end, and you can enjoy it in an hour with children or on a long, serious mountain day.

What is the highest mountain in Andorra?

Comapedrosa, at 2,942 m. The natural park, the Comú de La Massana and the Spanish Foreign Ministry’s country profile all agree, and the ministry adds that Andorra has 65 peaks over 2,500 m. It sits in the north-west of the country, in La Massana parish, at the head of the Arinsal valley. There’s more on the other summits in mountains in Andorra.

The Comú’s tourism website tells a story I really like. The first recorded ascent was on 22 September 1858, by the six members of the Spanish-Andorran commission marking out the border, who mistakenly believed the line ran over the top. Three Spaniards, Brigadier José Mellid de Bolaño, Antonio de Moner and José López, and three Andorrans, the síndic Francesc Duran, the deputy síndic Joan Moles and one Josep Povida.

Climbing to the summit, honestly

Andorra Turisme allows about 8 hours for the ascent and grades it very hard, with around 1,372 m of climbing. You start on the Prats Sobirans forest track, following the GR 11, and climb to the Collet de Comapedrosa past the Pla de l’Estany streams. Staying on the GR 11 brings you to the staffed hut; from there you drop west, pass the Estany Negre pool and a boulder field, and at the junction take the right-hand ridge, marked with yellow dots, to the top. You come down the same way.

The Comú’s website puts it well, the climb isn’t technically difficult, but it is tiring. The best season runs from late May to October. At the top waits La gran fita, an iron sculpture by Joan Canal holding three stones, one from the peak itself, one from the River Valira and one from the sea, set on a panoramic viewpoint table.

What can you do in the park without going to the top?

Plenty. Comapedrosa Natural Park protects 15.42 km² of high mountains, with forest, lakes and waterfalls, and it’s free to enter. With children, the interpretation trail is a 1.2 km loop, takes under an hour and runs from the Riu Pollós picnic area to the Arinsal dam past ten panels. It also has a treasure hunt, Salva la Serenalla, available all year, and hides one of Andorra’s seven tamarros.

A step up is the walk I’d do first, from the Arinsal ski-sector car park to the Estany de les Truites and the staffed Comapedrosa hut at 2,260 m. The hut opened in 1992, sleeps 49, serves meals in summer and is a stop on the GR 11, the GRP, the GRT and the Coronallacs. It’s listed with the others in mountain huts in Andorra.

Lakes, waterfalls and three nations

The Comú’s tourism website counts six groups of lakes in the park, including Andorra’s highest, Més Amunt dels Forcats at 2,714 m, and highlights the waterfalls on the Pollós and Comapedrosa rivers. Comapedrosa also belongs to the Three Nations Pyrenean Park, with the Sorteny valley, Catalonia’s Alt Pirineu and the Ariège Pyrenees. Its emblem is Pic de Medacorba, over 2,900 m, where the three territories meet. Andorra Turisme calls it the country’s most technical peak, on a 6,180 m loop with 1,344 m of ascent.

A sky with the Starlight label

The parish holds Starlight Reserve and Destination status, and the park is the reason. Andorra Turisme highlights its very low light pollution and points to two stargazing spots in the parish, one above Arinsal at Roca de la Sabina and one above Pal at Coll de la Botella. In June, Arinsal hosts the Andorra Comapedrosa astronomy festival. If you’re staying in the valley, it’s the perfect excuse for a night out of a different kind.

Getting there and when to go

You drive to Arinsal and follow the signs to the park from there. By bus, national line L5 runs to Arinsal from Andorra la Vella. For anything above 1,700 m, Andorra Turisme’s advice is the window from late June until September is out, widening to May and October if weather and ground are kind. Outside those months this is winter high-mountain terrain. One practical note for British walkers, your GHIC won’t be accepted in Andorra, so for a day like this check that your travel insurance includes medical treatment in Andorra. The country’s other protected areas are in Andorra national parks.