After a successful day backpacking Pas de la Casa, I felt so inspired by Andorra that I went and visited Canillo, 10km out of town, back up the road towards the French border.
A return ticket (un bilete de regresso a Canillo) costs 3.55€:
On arrival, a quick coffee in the Family Room:
And checking out the map outside the Tourist Office, I found many hidden gems to go and check out.
Andorra is a complete mind-blow. It’s such a small country but packed full of things to see. It goes well beyond being a place for winter sports and duty-free shopping.
In the end, I would spend 10 days in Andorra. Imagine. That’s 5 times as many days as I spent in Barcelona.
It’s not that Andorra is off the beaten track but it’s off the radar for most travellers, backpackers, and tourists. The crowd would rather go to Barcelona, Madrid, or Rome. Because what’s the point in going somewhere where most have no clue where it even is?
Where did you go on holiday? Andorra. Where the hell is that?
And the conversation is over.
But if you went to Barcelona and you got drunk in a bar on La Rambla, the conversation would be ongoing, discussing the best bars to get drunk in and how La Rambla was a lot wilder back in the day or how they got pickpocketed again.
And if your budget can’t handle France or Spain, I’ll let you in on a secret. Andorra is much more budget-friendly than France or Spain.
Here are my top sights in Canillo – Andorra
Església de Sant Joan de Caselles:
The Church of Sant Joan de Caselles is one of Andorra’s many Romanesque churches. This one dates from the 11th or 12th century.
It features a rectangular nave with a wooden roof, a semi-circular apse and a Lombard-style bell tower.
Sadly the Church of Sant Joan de Caselles wasn’t open but the exterior is simply stunning.
Pont Tibetà de Canillo
I’d heard of this Tibetan Bridge but hadn’t gotten around to checking it out. So I was delighted when I saw that it was just out of Canillo. The path leading to the bridge started across from the Church of Saint Joan. How convenient! I checked it on MapsMe. 1.4km with about 300m of height gain. The weather was great but after my coffee, the lady at the tourist office informed me that it’s only open on the weekend. Dang. I’d have to come back.
If you look closely at the photo below, taken from near the waterfall, you can see the bridge., just in the ‘V’ of the mountains.
Cascada de Los Moles
This 35 metre high waterfall is worth the 600m walk from the Church of Sant Joan de Caselles:
Molí de Canillo
The original Canillo flour mill dates back to the beginning of the 8th century. Over the years it has been rebuilt several times.
Església de Sant Serni
The current church at Sant Serní is from the mid-18th century and was built by master builders Pere Moles and Francesc Porta from the Catalan town of Seu d’Urgell.
There is evidence of a previous church devoted to the same Sant Serní from as far back as the 11th century.
Excavations also unearthed a series of burials dating back to the 7th and 8th centuries
I walked a lot. To reach the following sites, I was headed south, direction Andorra la Vella, following the footpaths as marked on MapsMe.
Creu dels set braços
The Cross of the 7 Arms. There is a great legend surrounding this cross on the Visit Andorra website.
Sant Miquel de Prats
This is a typical rural Romanesque-style church with a pointed arch of the Gothic period (12th to 16th century).
Historic Ensemble of Meritxell
The Historic Ensemble of Meritxell (the name of the small village) is comprised of the Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Meritxell and the old chapel, Santa Maria de Meritxell.
The Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Meritxell was undoubtedly the highlight of the day but the Església de Sant Joan de Caselles would have taken top spot had it been open.
The newer basilica was born out of the fire that destroyed the older chapel (see below) on the night of September 8, 1972.
Ricardo Bofill was one of the architects involved in the original project but it never materialised and he went on to design it alone and even then his original ideas never came to fruition.
It was inaugurated, unfinished, in 1976.
The original chapel dedicated to Saint Mary dates from the 12th century, but the baroque-style one as you see today was built in the 1600s, though it was destroyed by fire in 1972 and restored in 1994.
Ricard
In ninth spot comes an activity, not a sight or place of interest. Walking back to the road, a glass of Ricard, in a small bar opposite the Ermita Hotel, had my name on it. How could I resist?
Heaven in a glass. Pastis has always been up there on my list of favourite tipples.
This could make a great blog post no?
Pastis, Mezcal, Lagavulin.
So, having finished enjoying, I walked to the main road, at which point, I was already 3km from Canillo. As there was no bus stop, I just started walking, and eventually I made it back to Escaldes-Engordany. It only added 9km to my day.
Nice views though:
