La Mosquera, Encamp's old quarter with Judas on the altarpiece

La Mosquera has no famous postcard view, but it’s the Encamp of old, the narrow streets and stone houses tucked between the main road and the hillside. I’d wander it slowly with Casa Cristo as the excuse, because it’s the best way to see that Encamp was a farming village long before it became a ski gateway.

A settlement in Encamp’s old quarter

The council counts La Mosquera among the official settlements of Encamp parish, and together with El Tremat it forms the village’s old quarter. On the map, the two settlements and the centre blur into a handful of blocks. Andorra Tourism describes the local chapel as standing in the centre of the parish, which tells you where you are.

The chapel of Sant Miquel i Sant Joan

La Mosquera’s church is dedicated to St Michael the Archangel and St John the Baptist, the settlement’s patron saints. The council describes it as a small chapel of uncertain date, enlarged in the nineteenth century, with an apse that isn’t distinct from the nave and a single-opening belfry on the west wall. Andorra Tourism adds that it’s one of the busiest churches in the parish today.

Inside there are two things to look at. A late sixteenth-century altarpiece dedicated to both saints, with scenes from their lives, and wall paintings from the late nineteenth century by the painter Oromí of La Seu d’Urgell, showing the Transfiguration and Moses receiving the Tablets of the Law. Then come two curiosities the council clearly enjoys. One commandment is missing from the ceiling paintings, and Judas Iscariot turns up on the altarpiece, something it calls extremely rare.

Visits are by arrangement. The chapel is also on Encamp’s guided religious heritage walk, which sets off from Plaça del Consell and visits Les Bons, this chapel, Santa Eulàlia d’Encamp and the Sacred Art Museum, always with advance booking at the tourist office.

Casa Cristo and the murals walk

Casa Cristo is in La Mosquera, at Carrer dels Cavallers 2, according to the council. Once home to a labouring family and lived in until 1947, it’s now a museum, and to my mind the visit that best complements the chapel.

If you’d rather explore on your own, Andorra Tourism has the La Mosquera and El Tremat walk, through alleys, squares and traditional houses, past old mills, wash houses and small chapels. It singles out the La Mosquera murals as one of the highlights. The route carries on to El Tremat, home of the Guillem mill.

How do you get to La Mosquera?

On foot from anywhere in central Encamp, as it’s only a few minutes from the main road. Coming from Andorra la Vella without a car, national bus L2 gets you to Encamp with frequent weekday departures. Drivers will find a car park at El Tremat on the parish map, right next door. And if you’re going into Casa Cristo, remember that outside July and August it rests on Sundays and Mondays and shuts for lunch from 13:30 to 14:30.