Family walks in Andorra that stop children asking how much further

Children care about mountains for as long as something is happening. Andorra seems to have grasped that and has filled its woods with trails that tell a story, activity books, hidden portals and treasure hunts. None of them is long, nearly all are loops and most take a morning, with plenty of time left for a picnic.

Macarulla, seven trails built for small legs

These are the country’s most complete offer. Andorra Turisme calls them little magic trails, and they’re easy, short circular paths with hidden features made by local artists and craftspeople in wood, iron and stone. Each tells a different tale. Los amigos de Estevet, a stone’s throw from the shopping streets of Andorra la Vella, is about insects; Piero y la Reina Pitavola, near Ordino, about butterflies; El bosque de los menairons, in La Massana, about woodland creatures; and ¿Dónde están las setas?, in Canillo, about mushrooms.

The set is completed by La pócima de la bruja Quela in Escaldes-Engordany, on the country’s witch legends, Rastros y huellas in Els Cortals d’Encamp, on seven mountain animals and their tracks, and El mundo travieso de Llimoi in the Rabassa woods near Naturland. The activity book costs €1 from tourist offices and you download a certificate when you’ve finished. They’re on mountain paths, so proper shoes even though they’re short.

The tamarros and their portals

The second big idea is a legend. Tamarros are tiny creatures who look after Andorra’s forests and battle a troll called Brutícia, who spoils everything she touches. They slip into our world through hidden magic portals, which open when you leave a small round pebble. There are seven, one in each parish, and hunting for them is good for several days of outings. One is on the Comapedrosa park interpretive trail, a 1.2 km loop that takes under an hour.

I think it’s clever because it turns any walk into a search, and children stop counting the bends. If they like the format, the same park has another treasure hunt, Salva la Serenalla.

Which trails come with a game?

In the Incles valley in Canillo there are two teaching trails for children. With the La vall d’Incles a la motxilla booklet they learn about what’s around them, and Busca’ls offers six trails where they hunt for signs matching the number and colour of the path, note them down and claim a prize at the tourist office. In summer you go up the valley on an electric train, which for many small children is the outing in itself.

In Ordino, the Bosc Viu in L’Esquella wood tells the Catalan Christmas tradition of the Tió with dressed-up trees, faces on the trunks and around thirty wooden sculptures. It’s 10 minutes from the Coll d’Ordino road and suitable from age 3. For older children, the Somos montaña trail in the Rialb valley is a paid orienteering circuit for ages 6 to 12, booked at the Ordino tourist office. In Sant Julià, the White Lady of Auvinyà trail takes about three hours with around ten stops, for children aged 7 and over.

From games to a first real mountain

Once they walk well, the natural next step is a lake. The first Tristaina lake takes about 40 minutes on foot from La Coma, and Andorra Turisme rates it suitable for children; the other two need kids used to mountain paths. I cover it in the Tristaina lakes.

Another winner is the Iron Route in Andorra in Ordino, which Andorra Turisme lists among the best family walks because it’s dotted with iron-men sculptures and passes the Llorts mine. And if someone in the group walks little, the Camí de les Pardines to Engolasters lake is the widest and flattest path in the country.

Planning a day with children

I’d do a trail with a game in the morning and keep the afternoon for something that isn’t walking, because with children that’s where the day is won. Ideas for those afternoons, from Mon(t) Magic to the Palau de Gel, are in Andorra with kids.

Summer is the season. The Incles train runs from mid-June to early September and routes above 1,700 m are recommended from late June to late September, which lines up nicely with the English school holidays. Outside those dates, the Macarulla trails and the lower tamarro portals still make a good plan, with warm layers and no rush. One British detail worth repeating, the GHIC counts for nothing in Andorra, so check the whole family is named on your travel insurance. The Macarulla activity booklets cost €1 at the Andorra tourist office, and if the Llimoi trail leaves you wanting more, the Juberri Gardens are close by.