Pal, the village that never stopped being a village

There are two Pals, and it pays not to mix them up. One is the ski sector, which is what nearly everyone searching for it wants. The other is the village a little below, which for me is the prettiest thing in La Massana and takes no more than an afternoon.

A village restored one theme at a time

Pal sits above 1,500 m on the branch of the CG-4 that heads west from Erts. Andorra Turisme calls it one of the few villages in the country to have kept the profile of a traditional mountain hamlet, with stone, wood and slate on old and new houses alike.

What sets it apart is the method. In 1998 the Comú de La Massana launched a special planning scheme to revive the village’s heritage, with themed programmes that focus each round of work on a single element, the slate roofs one year, the walls another, then the woodwork. I think it’s a clever way to restore a place without turning it into a film set, and it shows on every corner.

What is there to see in Pal?

Not much, and all of it good. A stroll along the cobbled lanes, between barns and stone fronts, takes about three-quarters of an hour. At the top stands Sant Climent de Pal, built around the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, which is the main reason to come.

Its Lombard bell tower has three storeys and, on the top one, double twin windows, which Andorra Turisme and museus.ad both describe as unique in the Andorran valleys. Inside are a granite font, painted wooden crosses and a 1709 altarpiece dedicated to St Clement. Entry is free, and in July and August there’s a guided visit at no charge.

Don’t stop at the tower. The entrance porch is 20th century, the work of architect Cèsar Martinell, with a round arch trimmed in a saw-tooth pattern, and beside the font there’s a second, 12th-century basin once used to store oil. museus.ad adds that Gothic wall paintings from the 16th century survive inside. For a village church, I’d give it a good half hour.

Higher up, pistes and a viewpoint

Just above the village begins the Pal sector of Pal Arinsal, with runs cut through the forest. In winter the easy way up is the gondola from the centre of La Massana. The sector links with Arinsal via Coll de la Botella, so from here you can ski the whole resort.

Carry on up the road and you reach the Coll de la Botella viewpoint, above 2,000 m, at kilometre 13.3 of the CG-4. It looks over Pal, Erts and Arinsal, across to Comapedrosa and, towards Ordino, the Sorteny valley. Beside it stands Tempesta en una tassa de te, Dennis Oppenheim’s 1991 sculpture, some 9 m tall and 13 m across. In winter you have to leave the car in the ski area car park.

Pal in summer, by bike or with children

Once the snow goes, Pal changes crowd. Andorra Turisme describes the Pal Arinsal bike park as having over 60 km of trails and around thirty downhill, enduro and cross-country runs, plus a beginners’ area called Bike World. There’s more in mountain biking in Andorra.

With small children I’d head for the Bosque dels Menairons, one of the Macarulla ‘magic trails’, and the Adventure Fun Zone at La Caubella, with a rope park, zip line and inflatables. Evenings count too. The parish is a Starlight destination and, from July to September, runs stargazing sessions at Coll de la Botella.

Getting there and where to stay

From La Massana you drive up the CG-4 through Erts. Without a car, museus.ad suggests one of the national lines to La Massana, the L5 or L6, and then the M2 parish bus up to Pal. By road bike, Andorra Turisme’s cycling route 10 starts in Erts and reaches the Pal sector after 8.4 km at an average 6.7%, the same climb that ended a stage of the 1993 Tour de France, won by Oliverio Rincón.

The village itself has few beds. I’d stay in La Massana and come up to Pal mid-afternoon. If you’d rather sleep higher up the valley, what’s on offer around Pal and Arinsal is in hotels in Arinsal.