To get to know Les Valls del Comapedrosa Communal Natural Park and, in particular, all its natural and cultural heritage, we recommend you to take a look at the documentary Un any al Comapedrosa, (One year in the Comapedrosarecorded) by the technical team of the protected open space, for educational purposes, between 21 December 2010 and 5 October 2011.
Heather
Photography: Jaume Riba
The rugged relief and the high altitude are associated to a typical high mountain climate in a mild climate zone, characterised by cold winters and relatively hot summers, in which the average seasonal maximum rainfall is concentrated..
Broadly speaking, the climate in the park can be considered as the transition between the Atlantic influence, found in the highest, northernmost areas of the park, and the Mediterranean-continental influence, represented by the lower, southernmost zones.
On the website of the Andorran Government’s Meteorological Service, you can consult the weather data of two stations in the interior or the immediate peripheral area of the Les Valls del Comapedrosa Communal Natural Park: Les Fonts d’Arinsal and Arinsal.
It is worth mentioning, because of their spectacular nature, the waterfalls of the River Pollós and the River Comapedrosa. You can check out the basic hydrology of the par.
The small lakes are a very important feature in the surface hydrology. In the park, up to 6 different nuclei of small lakes can be distinguished, including the highest ones in the country (specifically, Més Amunt dels Forcats, at an altitude of 2,714 m, is the highest one in Andorra).
Inside the park, we would particularly mention the existence of two communal abstractions (Pla de l’Estany and Les Fonts), which are part of the communal water supply network and which, therefore, are of very great public interest.
The varied forms caused by glacier modelling are also remarkable. Worthy of a mention, due to their spectacular appearance, are the glacial cirques, in particular those at the headwater of Comapedrosa and that of the Pla de l’Estany, as well as the U-shaped valley of Comapedrosa.
The catalogue of vertebrate wildlife in the park is made up of more than 140 species, including some threatened species and/or species that are endemic to the Pyrenees. The genuine protagonist is the Aurelio’s rock lizard, a small Sauria that is exclusive to a highly reduced area.
The leaflet "On observar fauna" covers some of the most interesting places in the park for discovering some of the most relevant species: the bearded vulture, the golden eagle, the rock ptarmigan, the black woodpecker, the marmot, the chamois, the roe deer, the mouflon, the stoat, etc.
You can find more information about the vertebrate wildlife in the park in the following documents:
The invertebrate wildlife in the park is still by and large unknown. However, there are "Preliminary catalogues of Rhopalocera Lepidoptera, Orthoptera and Mollusc", which include more than 150 species. Some of these are considered to be of special interest, either because of their limited distribution or their state of conservation.
Habitats
Photography: Jaume Riba
The park has biogeographical features belonging to two of the large Western European regions: Boreo-alpine and Euro-Siberian. Three stages of plant life can be differentiated, from the lower levels to the higher levels: montane, subalpine and alpine.
The park’s "map of habitats" includes diverse habitats with a very elevated overall value of interest. This includes, for example, the meadows of Carex curvula or the grove of downy birch with an undergrowth of megaphorbia.
The park has an important rocky and rocky deck because it is a high mountain area. The forest areas are relegated to the bottom of the valley and to the lowest levels of the slopes. The meadows and herbassars extend along the plains of Comapedrosa and the Pla de l'Estany and the pastures of the Sources.
According to the map of the landscape units of Andorra, in the park there are units with a predominance of abiotic, biotic and mixed components, most of which have stable or progressive tendencies. A good part of it has a first-class potential in terms of hiking and ecotourism, but there are also some units with a significant potential for well-being and health tourism. Depending on the quality of the landscape, the vast majority of the space is listed as a natural high mountain area of relevant value.
The traditional constructions include pens, dairies, shepherds’ huts and, very close to the park, several sets of traditional huts (Percanela, Torné, Prats Nous, Agunes and Coruvilla).
The paths and trails in the park used to be the only communication channels between the towns in La Massana and the neighbouring valleys of Catalonia and France. There are still many associated dry stone constructions conserved, as well as some pebbled stretches.
The cultural heritage of the park is complemented with a great diversity of traditional activities, from the use of the pastures to the collection and use of remedial plants.