Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley

The Madriu - Perafita - Claror in Andorra since 2004 has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, added in 2006 as Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Andorra, and extends to the southeast of the country on the municipalities Encamp, Les Escaldes, Andorra la Vella and Sant Julia de Loria.

The glacier is a 4247 -hectare area, which corresponds to 9% of the total area of Andorra. The landscape is dominated by glaciers and steep cliffs, interspersed with high-altitude pastures and deep wooded valleys. It is also the second largest watershed in Andorra. The valley is a haven for rare or threatened species.

History

The valley Madriu - Perafita - Claror been inhabited since the 13th century. The places Entremesaigües and Ramió lie in a narrow Talstück. Both places were inhabited throughout the year until the 1950s, and the population has been engaged grazing. There were 12 properties in the typically Andorra construction with granite and slate roof. Each house has a large barn for the storage of grain and hay. The settlements are from the Middle Ages surrounded by terraced fields. In the Middle Ages, wine was grown. On the steep mountain pastures grazed in summer sheep, cows, donkeys and horses. The shepherds lived in small Ramión with grass roofs. The milk of the animals were used to make cheese. The local iron ore was processed locally. The necessary charcoal was recovered from the trees of the surrounding forest area. The Forge, a so-called Catalan style Forge, typical of the Pyrenees, in 1790 abandoned. In a stone- built shaft furnace iron was obtained from iron ore. The paved with flat stones path connects the valley with the center of Andorra.

After a period of neglect, many houses, shepherds huts, trackways and field boundary walls have been restored in recent years. There are, however, to build a paved access road no plans. The valley is to be retained as a distinctive area for agriculture and livestock and are used only for limited tourism for hikers. The houses and the agricultural land near the settlements are the only areas that are privately owned and about 1% of the total area of the valley.

Attractions

In the field there is some grazing today. On display are, inter alia, summer settlements, terraced fields, mountain trails and signs of a former iron mining.