Pyrenees Trip June 2024 - Part 12 from Andorra to Llivia

Leaving Andorra via Port d'Envalira involved a lot of going up, and up, and up! The pass is at 2,408m and is the highest paved pass in the Pyrenees. There is a tunnel lower down which avoids the highest part but why would we want to take that? The views from the summit were magnificent. It's also surely got the highest petrol stations in the Pyrenees - there were three of them just before the border, as petrol is cheaper in Andorra (and Spain) than in France.

If you click on this Pyrenean Thistle (Carduus carlinoides) photo, which I saw at the pass, you'll see the stripey bee in the centre.

Once back in France we crossed another mountain pass, the Col de Puymorens at 1,920m altitude.

There wasn't a lot but I found a few wildflowers and butterflies!

Top left: Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
Bottom left: Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)
Right: Violet (possibly Viola pyrenaica)

Top left: Another Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
Bottom left: Rock Speedwell (Veronica fruticans)
Right: Rock Campion (Atocion rupestre)

N.B. I am not 100% on the IDs above!

Below is this derelict hotel at the Col, built in the 1930s. It burnt down in 2019 which is such a shame.

Here is a map showing our journey on this day from Andorra la Vella via the two mountain passes to our destination at Llivia.

I mentioned the Spanish enclave of Llivia way back at the beginning of this series of posts. It's a tiny bit of Spain about a mile from Spain but totally surrounded by France and the reason goes back in history to the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees.

Taken from Wikipedia: "Following the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 ceded the comarques of Roussillon, Conflent, Capcir, Vallespir, and northern Cerdanya ("Cerdagne") to the French Crown. The treaty thus established the Pyrenees as the border between France and Spain, while separating Northern Catalonia from Catalonia. However, the treaty stipulated that only villages were to be ceded to France, and Llívia was considered a town (vila in Catalan), since it had the status of the ancient capital of Cerdanya.[8] So Llívia remained a Spanish enclave within France and did not become part of the Kingdom of France. This situation was confirmed in the subsequent Treaty of Llívia, signed in 1660."

Llivia, altitude 1,224m, lies in a part of the eastern Pyrenees known as the Cerdagne, which for the most part is a huge plain with mountains around it.

Above the town is a hill topped by the remains of an old castle and we set off up the hill in hot sunshine.

There's some info here in English if you click on the photo. There really isn't a lot left of the castle, but there is Roman history here from before this castle was built and Roman pieces have been found during excavations. Some original castle remains have been found dating to 996 but it was enlarged in the 13th century.

The clouds were starting to roll in and looked ominous!

At this point we decided we had better leg it down the hill, as the black clouds were getting closer and closer. Of course it started to rain and thunder on our way down, getting heavier and heavier and we were absolutely drenched by the time we got back to the Moho! 😀 One of the benefits of a Moho though is that you can dry off and change your clothes in one and leave your wet things to drip in the bathroom!