Camin Reiau. A journey filled with history

Recovering the old road that served as communication between different villages in Val d'Aran, this age-old route has been brought back to life.

The Camin Reiau runs 150 kilometres though the 33 villages of the Val d'Aran. It is a new, but ancient route. New, because the route has just been recovered, and old because Vía Augusta, was used by the Romans. The starting point is Vielha, the capital of the region. It continue towards Salardú, where the church of Sant Andreu is, a fusion of the Romanesque and Gothic with the famous Crist de Salardú, from the 12th century, inside. Then it goes through Montgarri, a village that was deserted in the '60s, and all that remains is the sanctuary and a refuge, that of Pla de Beret, with the Noguera Pallaresa and Garona Rivers.

The route continues through Bagergue, with the Museu Etnològic Eth Corrau; Vilamòs, whose church has Roman remains from the 4th and 5th centuries, and Unha, with a museum dedicated to snow and where visitors can see what the old Aranesa houses were like. Other small villages that deserve a special mention are Arties, which has two churches, Sant Joan and Santa Maria, and some of the most notable Renaissance houses in the valley, and Bausen, famous for its ancient beech, Fageda de Carlac, because of the views over the Vall de Toran, and the legend of the Bausen Lovers.

A stroll through the flora and fauna of the Val d'Aran

The Val d'Aran is covered with pine, fir and hazelnut forests and alpine and subalpine meadows, with the rhododendron being its star plant. As far as the fauna is concerned, visitors can see majestic golden eagles and bearded vultures, to marmots in summer, and red deer in autumn.