Travelling to Andorra

In Andorra, I spent most of my time travelling by local buses, which are cheap and run between all major towns. The Principality of Andorra is a very safe country, so if you like to hitchhike you will have no problems. After a few minutes of hitchhiking, someone always stopped for me and drove me to the next sight I wanted to see.

Andorra La Vella and its surroundings

Since the capital of Andorra La Vella is a small city, I recommend you to take a stroll through the many streets and get to know some of the most interesting sights of the capital. There are definitely some attractions worth visiting. Dali's sculpture The nobility of time (La Noblesse du Temps) stands in the centre of the city, not far from the famous Pont de Paris. Because of its unusual sculptural form, many people have been photographing Dali's masterpiece. The pleasant ambience is complemented by a number of small restaurants with decorated terraces.

La casa Dela la Vall is the seat of the Andorran parliament, which is also open to visitors and is a very special building from 1580 with its Andorran stone structure. In the early morning hours, while the city is still resting, I took some photos and headed to the popular Lake Engolasters, which is surrounded by numerous walking trails with a few restaurants. Lake Engolasters is fed by two rivers, the Valire and the Madriu. The water stored in the reservoir is used to generate electricity in a hydroelectric power plant located near the village of Encamp. For visitors, there are numerous boards around the lake, where visitors can get acquainted with the flora and fauna of the area. Lake Engolasters is popular for recreation, hiking, and fishing. From the capital, you will be led by a very steep, winding road with beautiful views of the highest lying capital city in Europe. The city aims to get as many people as possible on local buses and make the capital of the Principality of Andorra a green capital.

An employee at the tourist information centre advised me to take the free bus, that needs to be pre-booked, to lake Engolasters. The system works by calling an employee, telling them where you are, getting a departure time, and then the bus takes you to the lake. As I left the lake, I decided to walk to the capital and try my luck and stop a vehicle with my thumb up. After a few minutes, I was sitting with a local policeman headed my way. During the ride, we mostly talked about cycling, since he was a cyclist himself and knew Slovenian cyclists. Every few years, the largest cycling events, Tour de France and Vuelta, take place on steep, winding roads, as the commemorative signs along the main road remind you. I once read that people in Andorra are not very nice to strangers. My experience was the opposite, because I hitchhiked daily and always met open and friendly people who unselfishly took me to the place where I was going, and in the meantime I learned a lot of interesting things that otherwise I would never have known.

In March, as spring slowly awakens, the weather was very good, with snow-covered peaks on the Pyrenees peaks visible from afar. After a few hours of walking up the hill, I saw the tranquillity of silence and was rewarded with beautiful views of the neighbouring side, the country of France. The moment you are alone in the high mountains and left to nature and the many blue colours of the Alpine lakes, you have the feeling that you would just stay for a few days and fill yourself with the energy that we often lack in urban areas due to the fast lifestyle.

For the pocket state of Andorra in the Pyrenees, it is interesting that they do not have regulated rail and air traffic around the country, so all traffic takes place by road, the easiest way to get to Andorra is by car or bus from neighbouring countries France or Spain. From the main bus station in the capital, there are well-organized direct bus lines to Barcelona and to the airport in Spanish Girona. Andorra's unspoilt nature is sure to captivate you, and I'm sure I'll be visiting again soon to discover its many remaining untrodden hiking trails.