Angostrina Valley
The Angostrina valley connects La Cerdanya with the Carlit mountain range. For this reason, it is used as a passageway for livestock that, from Llívia, goes up to graze in the Bollosa sector, taking advantage of the grazing rights of the farmers of this town.
Technical Data
Access: From Puigcerdà we head for Angostrina. After passing this town and before crossing the river of the same name, we immediately find a detour with signs on the left that leads to this valley. We take it and go up the road, initially paved, which takes us to the car park in front of the hermitage of Sant Martí d’Envalls.
Start: Parking in front of the hermitage of Sant Martí d’Envalls.
Difficulty: Easy
Maximum altitude: 2,017 m
Elevation gain: 475 m
Total duration: 5.15 h (2.45 h one way + 2.30 h return).
Time of year: All year round.
Notes: The road that goes up from the Angostrina detour to the Sant Martí d’Envalls car park is closed during the summer months at the height of a previously enabled car park, which increases this route by half an hour.
Route
From the car park we cross a barrier with yellow signs. We head north along a shady stretch until we reach the rest area next to the hermitage of Sant Martí d’Envalls. After the hermitage, the path climbs a rocky stretch with small streams of water. At the end of this climb we come out on a sunny plateau with some dry stone walls, where the valley widens for good. We follow the signs of the “Tour du Carlit” and arrive at a small water dam. We cross it and climb a hill from where we see the Puig del Cap de l’Home in front of us. After passing through a flat grass area, we enter a forest of black pine and hazelnut trees. The marks take us to the small “Bridge of Empedrats”, which serves us to cross the Angostrina river again (1 h). The path now climbs the east side of the Puig del Cap de l’Home. As we walk we leave this hill behind and cross another flat area, where the path is surrounded by provence broom bushes and blackberries.
We patiently walk through the bushes towards the ski lifts of the Font-Romeu ski resort, which we see in the distance on the right. Later, the path we follow leads us to a wide area, covered with grass. We pass these area on the left to avoid some wetlands and arrive at the beautiful lake of La Pradella, with a refuge next to it (1,960 m, 2.15 h).
After contemplating this lake, we have two options to arrive at La Bollosa. The first, easier, is to turn a little to the left to take the wide track that leads directly to the reservoir. The second, more beautiful, is to continue along the GR-10 path that comes right next to the refuge and that, walking through a black pine forest with alpenroses, also reaches the Bollosa lake (2,017 m, 2.45 h).
Map and altimetry
