How is skiing in Andorra? Guide to Andorra ski resorts

Andorra is a well-known tourist country in Europe. It has very rich natural resources, especially the high mountain geography and landforms. Skiing in Andorra is indeed a favorite sport of many young tourists, so why do you want to ski in Andorra? What about skiing in Andorra?

This country is so huddled in the Pyrenees, between two major Western European countries, with a total area of ??only 467 square kilometers, which is larger than Zhongguancun after planned expansion. Small.

Having not had many "mountain city" experiences, I excitedly took the elevator to go shopping. From the main road in the new city to the shopping district in the old city, I had the first "dimensionality-enhancing experience" in my life.

While soaking in the outdoor surf pool of Caldea, the largest spa in Europe, and looking at the towering mountains, I had just become obsessed with skiing and decided to come back again one winter.

Zhang Hailutu of Andorra la Vella, the capital of Andorra

Zhang Hailutu of Andorra la Vella, the capital of Andorra

"Self-driving tour" on the top of the Pyrenees

Seven and a half years later this winter, not only did I realize my dream of skiing in the Pyrenees, I also traveled two kilometers on a "self-driving trip" in this pocket-sized country.

I “self-driving” for two kilometers in Andorra, a small country in the Pyrenees Mountains. Four-wheel drive, manual transmission, looks good, but power is intermittent and often stalls.

The object of my self-driving ride was a dog sled composed of four mixed-breed huskies! As soon as I started, I learned to control it. Putting your feet on both sides is the accelerator, and stepping on the middle beam is the brake.

It’s just that these noisy guys will stop and poop in succession.

After returning the four-wheel drive to the "kennel", I got into a yurt next door and put on snow boots and snowboards. Sitting inside were two other Asian faces that were very rarely seen in the mountains, a mother and daughter who spoke Russian. I judge that they are from Buryatia, Siberia.

“Yes, it’s Ulan-Ude.” The young mother expressed surprise that a snowboarding friend knew and had been to her hometown, and turned to sigh with a man next to her in Spanish. That was obviously Ulan-Ude. Her current husband.

“We have a lot more snow there than here, but unfortunately there are no high mountains for skiing. But now we are in a yurt in the Pyrenees, and it feels like we have returned to our place. It’s really magical!” said Buryat's mother.

Stepping on the snowboard and sliding away from this illusory "Mongolian snowfield", I was once again in the Pyrenees.

Different from skiing in the Alps, where most people shuttle around the mountainside, in the relatively short Pyrenees, cable cars can often take people to the top of the mountain, and skiing has become a part of the mountain top. fast and Furious.

Dog sledding "self-driving"

Dog sledding "self-driving"

The ski resort at your feet called Grandvalira was built in 1956. It has gradually expanded to become the largest ski resort in Southern Europe. There are 7 blocks not far from each other and connected by ropeways. There are 138 ski trails with a total length of 210 kilometers.

Looking from the high point of the cableway at an altitude of 2,640 meters, among the white snow, the road winds like a shining giant snake, struggling to climb up from Spain to France, while the road is spreading in all directions. On the snowy road, a few players passed by casually.

Although Grandvalira is not small in area and the height difference is large enough, it does not have any difficult and steep mushroom slopes that are too technically challenging, so it is particularly suitable for people like me who have good skills but can only limit their skills. Players on the ski slopes.

There is also snow outside the trail, but at the beginning of the snow season in early December, there is not enough snowfall to cover the hidden rocks, so there is no free skating trip organized for the experts for the time being. A few exercisers who insisted on mountaineering and skiing stepped on walking snowboards and walked in the opposite direction. It made me, a leisure person speeding down, envious of their physical strength and perseverance.

For two consecutive days, I went through all 7 areas of the ski resort and even the giant slalom track of the International Ski Federation World Cup. It was often a contrasting scene of miserable freezing rain down the mountain and bright winter sunshine on the mountain. Many blocks are also equipped with snow entertainment parks with different cartoon themes, most of which come from cartoon images in local people’s childhood memories.

Cartoon-themed snow entertainment park Zhang Hailutu

Woodland not open for sliding

Pipeline snow play

Pocket mountain country for duty-free shopping< /p>

The independent principality of Andorra originally came from a "stopgap measure" - to quell the potential conflict between Spain and France (the two parties involved in the dispute at the time were the Catalan Bishop of Uguerre and the The French Count of Foix) reached an agreement in 1278, and the two countries negotiated a neutral autonomous region with a unique political model. In 1607, Henry IV decreed that the French King and the Bishop of Uger would simultaneously possess the sovereignty of Andorra. After the Revolution, one of the leaders naturally transitioned to become the President of France.

Therefore, the nominal leaders of Andorra today are Macron and the Bishop of Sicily. The tricolor flag of blue, yellow and red, meant to balance Spain and France, is often mistaken for Romania.

In the summer of 2012, I took a bus from Toulouse on the French side to this mountainous country.

At that time, I knew that Andorra was not a member of the European Union. Although passports were rarely checked at the border, if tourists did not have multiple valid Schengen visas and were unfortunately randomly checked, they would still be prohibited from entering. This time, coming from Barcelona on the south side, my passport was really carefully read.

Tourism brings 80% of GDP to this tiny country. Revenue from ski vacations is naturally the main source of contribution to the tourism industry. Among them, the biggest part of tourists' spending is not on hotels and ski passes, which are cheaper than Alpine ski resorts, but on shopping. Andorra is a rare duty-free shopping paradise in Europe. The streets of Andorra la Vella, the capital, are full of the English word most familiar to our Chinese tourists - Duty

Free. Therefore, dad goes skiing, mom goes shopping, and the kids take physical education classes, which has become the most suitable way for a family vacation to be imagined.

However, according to a large number of Catalans working here, prices and living costs in Andorra are actually similar to Barcelona. As for shopping, products with price advantages are only concentrated in watches, cosmetics, electrical appliances and sports. The device is not very attractive. This tax haven even had no corporate business tax or personal income tax for a long time. It was not until the establishment of the European Union that the prices of imported goods from neighboring countries dropped sharply. As a result, the former comprehensive tax-free advantage was no longer available, and it had to slowly start to integrate with the international tax system.

Who will invade Andorra?

This small country whose official language is Catalan has no airport and no trains, and it seems that there will be no such invasion for a long time in the future. It is planned to be in line with international standards in terms of transportation.

The capital is an old city, twisting and turning above, and the new city is a unique city rising by the river below. It is much faster for pedestrians to take the elevator up and down in the belly of the mountain than to drive around the mountain road.

I left the Holiday Inn near the bus terminal and prepared to visit the old parliament building, which is a historical building. Turn left when you go out, get into the elevator in the parking lot, press the fourth floor button, the elevator door opens, and you are in the open municipal square.

The Zhang Hailu Picture of the Old Town Hall of Andorra la Vella

The 7 luminous heads, symbolizing the 7 dioceses across the country, hang high in the air outside the square, turning this vertical three-dimensional city into a Like a scene from a retro science fiction movie.

The old parliament building in the 15th century was a complex where bishops held meetings, government offices, courts tried cases, canteens cooked, and prisons held people. In order to make the key number 7 of this small country appear ceremonial, in the past, leaders from seven dioceses had to get seven keys at the same time to open a secret door in the legislative cabinet of the Central Assembly. In the mountains, until electricity was introduced in 1930, the bishops could only meet in the kitchen to keep warm.

Of course the court has a new office building, but the justices still have to take the oath of office in the old building. The last death sentence was handed down in 1940, and the underground prison remained in place until 2002.

"As the 'most uncivilized' place in Western Europe with no access to trains or planes, we have no worries about war and no army. After all, we are always neutral. Franco, the Nazis, the German Nazis, The French puppet government will not care about us, but there is still a murder that happened 12 years ago. Anyway, there are only two entrances and exits on one road, and the forest police arrested the guy in a short time. "The girl working in the museum said. arrive.

The girl was a bit self-deprecating. In fact, this is of course a highly developed and happy country with a super high life expectancy. If people from other countries want to become citizens, they must either marry a local or work and live here for 20 years. There are real invaders in modern times. In July 1934, a Russian adventurer Boris came to Catalonia and suddenly declared to the public that he had sovereignty over Andorra, and at the same time declared war on Bishop Uger. Eight days later, he was arrested by Spanish authorities and deported.

The Christmas Post Office in the center of Andorra la Vella

It was night, and I took the elevator again, went up to the old town, and entered the Communal National Theater. There is a comedy show called "Maestrissimo:

Pagagnini2".

Although the dialogue is in Catalan, the four musicians and actors in Baroque costumes do not have much dialogue. They just play the music from Paganini with exaggerated appearances and funny body movements. To Vivaldi's famous music, it shows the satirical story of intrigues competing for the crown of master.

When it was time to interact with the audience, I was sitting in the front row and was the only oriental-looking person in the room. I was pulled up by the violinist and forced to change into a palace robe, but I did not put my hands into the long sleeves. In this way, I, who was honored to be on the stage of the National Theater Center of Andorra, became a puppet controlled by the musicians.

The violinist stood behind me and put his hands into his long sleeves. I also cooperated very playfully, saying no to the music score handed by the conductor, crumpling it into a ball and throwing it on the ground, and then picked it up. With his own violin and tune adjustment, he played the unique theme song of "Cinema Paradiso" in the Pyrenees Mountains.