Estanys de Tristaina Day Hike In Andorra – (3 Mountain Lakes)
Andorra is a tiny country sandwiched between Spain and France. It is covered in beautiful mountains and pretty stone villages. Due to the scenery, it is a great place to go hiking and enjoy nature. We were only in Andorra for the weekend and decided to do the Estanys de Tristaina hike.
It is a beautiful hike that takes you through fields with horses and cows. You will pass waterfalls and visit the three Estanys, Estanys being the Catalan word for lakes. We think it has to be one of the best day hikes in Andorra and highly recommend it. Read below to find out how to get there and what to expect at Estanys De Tristiana.
How To Get To Estanys De Tristaina
To get to the start of the Estanys De Tristaina hike the easiest way will be to rent a car.
We drove from Barcelona which was about a 3-and-a-half-hour drive. However, if you start from Andorra la Vella it will take about 45 minutes to drive there. No matter where you start driving from you will have beautiful views of mountains and pretty villages most of the way.
To find parking near the hike the best way is to find Restaurant Hortell on google maps. There is a lot of parking around the restaurant so you should have no trouble finding a parking spot even on a busy day.
To find the start of the hike you will need to head briefly downhill from the restaurant. Then on the left-hand side of the road, you will find a path that goes up the side of the hill. It is an out-and-back hike so you will finish the hike at the starting point and it should take around 4 hours.
Path To Estany Primer
The path to the first lake is quite steep from the very start so it will be a bit of a workout. There is quite a bit of loose dirt and stones so you will need some decent shoes for the hike.
The path is marked by yellow spots which are painted on rocks along the trail. As you come up the hill you will pass some small dams. After you pass the dams you will arrive at a beautiful valley with a waterfall and some cows grazing on the grass.
Once you have passed through the valley there will be a fairly steep path up to the first lake. This was personally my favorite lake out of the three we visited. It was a good place to stop for a picnic and if it is summer it is a good place to go for a swim. We did the hike in the middle of summer so it was quite a hot day and there is not much shade along the route.
However, if you do the hike in the middle of winter, the conditions will be much different. So if you are wanting to hike in winter I would advise checking with locals if it is possible as the paths could be quite dangerous if they are icy.
Path To Estany Del Mig
The walk to the next lake is about a 25-minutes. You can walk around either side of the lake to get to Estany Del Mig. We decided to go on the right-hand side of the lake and it was a nice path to take. It is once again quite steep while going up to Estany Del Mig but there are some nice views over Estany Primer along the way.
Estany Del Mig was another nice lake and there were some horses hanging out around the lake so if you are an animal lover you will be happy. The water was much deeper here so it is another good place for a swim on a hot day.
Path to Estany De Mes Amunt
To reach the final lake you can take one of the paths on either side of Estany Del Mig. It will take about 15 minutes to reach the last and final lake. For me, this lake was the least pretty but it is still definitely worth the walk up there.
Return to the Car Park
Once you have visited Estany De Mes Amunt you can simply follow the path you took on the way up back to the car park. We spent about 5 hours on the hike which included quite a long lunch break. So if you do it with few breaks then you could get in down in about 4 hours.
Now You Know How To Hike Estanys De Tristaina
I hope you find this guide useful and if you end up going on the hike it would be great to hear what you thought about the hike in the comments below.
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