Llumeneres, a waterfall and a family chapel above Nagol

Llumeneres is the village above Nagol, on the eastern slope of Sant Julià de Lòria. Few visitors make it this far, and that’s understandable, since there’s no public church with opening hours and no shop. What it does have is a waterfall, a family chapel with a very specific history and hillside terraces that are still farmed.

The Llumeneres waterfall

The drop on the Llumeneres stream comes just before you reach the village, and the official BTT 62 route listing calls it a must for photographers. For me it’s the best reason to make the climb. Above it lie the Llumeneres terraces, with an open view across the whole parish.

A chapel licensed in 1769

The Mare de Déu de les Neus in Llumeneres is a small private chapel. It was built in the traditional Andorran way, with stone walls bound with mud and rendered with lime, under a two-sided roof of slate and timber. Andorra Turisme describes a curious interior, with frames around Latin liturgical texts carved in wood in the style of the bridal chests of the time, engraved hymns to Our Lady of the Snows and Saint Peter, and a confessional made from a wooden chest with a lattice screen fixed to one side.

The owning family still has the original paperwork, with the embossed seal of Bishop Francisco Fernández de Xàtiva, who granted the licence in 1769. As it’s private and has no published opening times, I’d admire it from outside and ask at the Sant Julià tourist office before hoping to go in.

Vegetables grown above 1,300 metres

Llumeneres is home to the Cortal Llumeneres, a farmhouse focused on the land and livestock that grows seasonal vegetables and produces fresh eggs at over 1,300 m. It has sold its produce since 2018 and delivers each week to shops in Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany. I like finding something like this in a country most people associate with duty-free shopping.

By bike or on the run

The BTT 62 mountain-bike route leaves the Sant Julià tourist office, climbs the La Rabassa and Peguera roads to 1,475 m and descends across the Llumeneres terraces to the waterfall. It then joins the Nagol road and passes Sant Serni de Nagol. It’s 11 km with 565 m of ascent, with technical sections suited to experienced riders. The Aixirivall trail-running circuit also crosses the Llumeneres stream on its way to Sant Serni.

That stretch of the trail is my favourite in the area. After a short, steep pull up to the Coll del Cerc, the path drops fast and straight, crosses the stream and brings you out at the hermitage, with the whole of Sant Julià spread out below. If you’re walking rather than running, it’s a fine way to link Llumeneres with Nagol without touching the road.