Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park — Attraction in la Vall de Boí

We really enjoyed our day out at Aigüestortes and Estany de Sant Maurici. We got to the parking lot at the trailhead by 9am, as suggested by the tourist office, because the lot fills up and then you can't drive up. (If this happens you have 3 choices: 1. Wait until someone leaves the lot, usually around 2:30pm, 2. Park in Espot and walk up for about 90 mins. Or 3. Take a Jeep Taxi from Espot.) We hiked up to the lake pretty easily with 3 kids and a baby on our back. The first part of the hike is flat and designed for those with mobility issues. The walkway even included turnouts for those in wheelchairs. After the waterfall the path changes to a bit of up hill and then along the valley floor, then to winding amongst the trees. It was nicely shaded and you can hear the running water most of the way. The lake was lovely with amazing views and there is a natural spring with delicious, fresh water. There were quite a few people there and we never went more than 50 feet without running into other hikers. (Higher amount of visitors because of COVID.) We walked up to the Cascada de la Ratera, both the bottom portion and the top portion. It took about 30 mins. We continued our walk to the Ratera Lake, which was nice, and had some pretty views and places to rest. The kids enjoyed putting their feet in the water on the side of the path. Overall, with about 5 breaks for snacks, we took 7.5 hours from parking lot to Lake Ratera and back. It has a good amount of incline, but kids can do it and adults who are in ok...

Aigüestortes is a beautiful high mountain National Park in Catalonia. Dotted with lakes, pinewoods and mountain pastures, craggy peaks, waterfalls, mountain streams; there's always a photo to take and a view to enjoy. Nature enthusiasts may enthuse about the Pyrenean Chamois, Alpine Marmot, Red Squirrel, orchids, butterflies and wild flowers, especially in late spring and early summer. When I visit nowadays it's usually leading a birding group on a Birding In Spain tour. Over the years I've seen most of the birds of the high mountains that are supposed to be here, although some of them can be quite challenging to set eyes on, and I still haven't seen a Rock Ptarmigan. Western Capercaillie are declining but still present; Black Woodpeckers are pretty thin on the ground although I have seen them in two general areas within the park; for Alpine Accentors and Wallcreepers you have to get higher than we usually go on our tours. Even if you don't see those more difficult birds, you still have a good chance with a pretty good selection of mountain birds such as Bearded Vulture, Common Rock Thrush, Ring Ouzel, Alpine Chough, Citril Finch, Crossbill, Water Pipit, White-throated Dipper, Red-backed Shrike, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, Booted Eagle, and others. If you're not one for trekking you have the option of taking one of the 4-wheel taxis which operate from Espot into the park. In Espot itself there is a good selection of hotels and restaurants, plus shops and a National Park...

So we came on Saturday in the end of July at 11:00. Parked at the entrance of Espot and wait in line 20 min for a taxi to go in to the conservation. Private cars are not allowd. There are 3 stops available in a linear line of hight, each near a lake and each are one hour walk from each other. So the last stop is the highest and you can walk down easly to the first lake and go back in the taxi. We took the second stop and walk one hour back to the first lake and got back on the taxi. We actually spent like 3 hours with the picnicking and casual stoping for photos. The drive to the first lake is on a road and takes about 20 min, than the ride goes on raw land for 10 mib to the second lake. Our driver was very nice a drove very pleasant and calm. Each taxi jeep has 6-8 places. The tripe was great for us family with little ones 4,7,11,14 year old girl, because the slow decline. There is one point where there are a lot of steps to go down. Great view and landscape. Very recommended, Not a lot of people...