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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 visited Andorra from Barcelona for a weekend and decided to do the Estanys de Tristaina hike.
What to Expect on the Tristaina Lake Trail
Estanys de Tristaina is a beautiful hike that takes you through fields with horses and cows. You will pass waterfalls and visit the three Estanys (meaning lakes in Catalan): Estany Primer, Estany Mig, and Estany de Més Amunt.
We think that the Tristaina Lake Trail has to be one of the best day hikes in Andorra and highly recommend it especially if you are backpacking Andorra. In this blog post, I will tell you 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 3.5-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.
📍Pin the starting point on your map
To find the start of the Estanys de Tristaina 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 in total.
Path to Estany Primer – the First Lake of Estanys de Tristaina
The path to the first lake called Estany Primer 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. As we did the hike in the middle of summer 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 Second Lake of Estanys de Tristaina
The walk to the next lake takes about 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.
At Estany del Mig we saw some horses hanging out 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 Més Amunt – the Third Lake of Estanys de Tristaina
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 one but it is still definitely worth the walk up there.
Return to the Car Park
Once you have visited Estany de Més 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 and a swim at the first lake.
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 found this guide and route description helpful. Andorra is a small but spectacular country that you will love visiting. If you end up visiting Estanys de Tristiana or are thinking of going it would be great to hear from you in the comments below.
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