The Envalira pass, the highest road in the Pyrenees

The Envalira pass is where Andorra suddenly becomes high mountain country. You drive up the CG-2 past shops and roundabouts and, within a few kilometres, you’re at 2,408 m. For me it deserves a proper stop, not just a crossing with one foot on the brake.

The highest road pass in the Pyrenees

Andorra Tourism describes Envalira as the highest mountain pass with a road in the Pyrenees, at 2,408 m. It lies in Encamp parish, on the CG-2 between the Valira d’Orient valley and Pas de la Casa, a few kilometres down towards France. Andorra’s weather service keeps a station nearby, called Envalira, at 2,510 m, which tells you how exposed it is.

It has snow in its history. The National Car Museum tells how Andreu Claret, a Catalan exile in Andorra in charge of the country’s snowploughs, was the man who opened the Envalira pass in years of heavy snowfall. Today it’s the main road, and to skip the summit you take the Envalira tunnel, whose Andorran end is close to Grau Roig.

What is there to see at the top?

The obvious stop is the Port d’Envalira viewpoint, at km 27 of the CG-2 and over 2,400 m up. Andorra Tourism describes it as a widened stretch of road with planting, a footpath, a car park and two wooden benches, facing Encamp and the Orient valley. The quirky part is a sustainable hut, solar-powered, built in the spirit of the first shelter put up in Pas de la Casa, explaining how the cattle herders lived. It opens only in daylight, and Andorra Tourism stresses that every element was designed to blend into the surrounding landscape.

A little further on there’s a picnic area with three stone tables beside the COEX refuge, on one of the bends, with plenty of room to park. In summer, the Pic Blanc starts from the pass itself on a short, easy route, and Andorra Tourism warns it’s often in fog. Walkers after a proper summit can tackle the 2,816 m Pic Negre, which Andorra Tourism starts in Pas de la Casa.

Driving over Envalira in winter

Andorran rules require snow chains or winter tyres on board between the start of November and mid-May, and the pass is where you’ll notice it first. Collecting a rental car at Toulouse or Barcelona? Check its kit before leaving the airport. My rule is simple. Clear day and dry road, go over the top with a stop at the viewpoint; snow, wind or fog, take the tunnel. Check Andorra road conditions and the Pas de la Casa weather before setting off; it’s the pass that decides if you reach the other side.

Winter brings its own fun up here. Circuit Andorra sits at the top of the pass, at about 2,400 m and 3 km from Pas de la Casa, running snow and ice driving courses, and Andorra Tourism lists snowmobile trips leaving from around 2,400 m.

On foot and by mountain bike

In summer the pass is also a trailhead. Andorra Tourism publishes mountain-bike routes from here towards the Coll Blanc, the Pic Maià and the Coma 3, and the unstaffed La Portella refuge, at 2,265 m, can be reached from Soldeu or from the Envalira pass itself, according to the Canillo council. In August 2026 the Antenes and Envalira races of the Travessa Pas de la Casa crossed the summit on their way to the Coll Blanc.

Envalira by bike

For cyclists, Envalira is the big climb in Andorra. Andorra Tourism gives the full ascent from Escaldes-Engordany as 26 km with 1,345 m of climbing at 5.2% on average, with sections of 7.5%, graded very hard. From the Pas de la Casa side it’s far shorter, 4.9 km at 6.4%. The pass has featured in the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España and the Volta a Catalunya, and La Vuelta’s fourth stage on 25 August 2026 crossed it again. On a bike, use the pass road rather than the tunnel. The rest of the country’s big climbs are in road cycling in Andorra.

Heading down the Canillo side towards Soldeu you pass Bordes d’Envalira, the last hamlet below the pass, which shares its name but belongs to a different parish.