Andorra
Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley (Unesco)
The cultural landscape of Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley offers a microcosmic perspective of the way people have harvested the resources of the high Pyrenees over millennia. Its dramatic glacial landscapes of craggy cliffs and glaciers, with high open pastures and steep wooded valleys, covers an area of 4,247 ha, 9% of the total area of the principality. It reflects past changes in climate, economic fortune and social systems, as well as the persistence of pastoralism and a strong mountain culture, notably the survival of a communal land-ownership system dating back to the 13th century. The site features houses, notably summer settlements, terraced fields, stone tracks and evidence of iron smelting.
Flora of Andorra (Wikipedia)
Chestnut and walnut trees grow only in the area around Sant Julià de Lòria, the lowest settlement. Elsewhere, evergreen oaks still are common. Higher regions and many valleys have pines, firs, and various forms of subalpine and alpine plant life. At the highest altitudes there are no trees, but grass is plentiful during the summer. There are carnations, violets, bellflowers, and daisies, as well as blackberries, wild strawberries, and moss.
See also
Although it is today well-known as a popular resort for winter sports enthusiasts there are a variety of habitats within the principality and a range of bird species can be seen including all the mountain specialities found elsewhere in the Pyrenees.
Much of Andorra consists of high mountains with narrow valleys and deep gorges. Broadleaved and coniferous woodland covers large areas, in lower parts there are slopes with Mediterranean scrub and at higher altitude there are many flower-filled alpine meadows.
Catalonia
The Iberianature guide to Spain
