The 20 Most Amazing Peaks around Lercoul

The highest peak in the Catalan Pyrenees is well worth the visit, although you have to earn it as it is a long route with considerable elevation gain to overcome.

Great panoramic view of France and Spain and the mega beautiful mountain scenery. I am very happy that the weather held up during our ascent. It was really mega beautiful up there. However, the ascent and descent are not for the inexperienced.

Fantastic panoramic view all around, this summit is worth it, see my two panorama photos. Ascent from Estany de Sotllo via Pass. Took the partly exposed scrambling/climbing ridge via Pic Verdaguer. Nice scrambling, you just have to be careful to stay on the right track. Descent all around the summit, then to the same pass and down along the same beautiful mountain lakes and via Valferrera hut into the valley. The length and roughness of this path really surprised me. Luckily I didn't ascend from the hut. Especially the path along the mountainside, some way above the hut, was challenging. Again and again there are small counter-ascents over rocky tops and at some point I was on a side path below the main path, which then ended in bushes. After a short climb, everything went well again.

The climb is steep, but manageable. The view from up there, stretching far into France, is definitely worth it!

Solar viewpoint on the Peyraguils pass or summit, a metal structure that allows a 360° view of the valleys of the Andorran Pyrenees and the Aran Valley, with views of Aneto.

Here again: Someone is rating ALL photos of highlights in this region (Northwest Pyrenees) "not accurate," even though they accurately depict the location? Why does anyone need to do that? Is it jealousy? Does someone want to drag down others' "expert" ratings? How pathetic.

The highest mountain in Andorra is feasible as a day trip from the country. However, one should be careful, some experienced hikers have already gotten lost. 😜 And the way to Spain or France is long... The easiest ascent is rated T3 according to the SAC scale. On the descent, I went a bit off the summit path in a northeastern direction and descended there. A bit more demanding (T4), but in this case, due to the scree in the upper part, it is easier to navigate on the descent. Here I saw some salamanders.

The summit can be reached from several sides. The direct route from the Spanish side to the summit ridge is demanding (I estimate T5 according to the SAC scale). However, you can "cheat" by first crossing to the north side via the pass, then you have to descend a bit and then you reach the path from the French side. The technically easiest ascent is certainly from the north via the Refuge du Pinet (T3). However, from the car park at L'Artigue, it is a total of around 2000 meters in altitude gain, which is why an overnight stay in the refuge is also a good idea (in October 2024, a winter room was open, €8 per night). I opted for the 3rd variant, from the Étang de Soulcem. From there, it is "only" 1500 meters in altitude gain with a difficulty of T3+/T4-. Although I chose a variant on the ascent (see my tour) that is not on the map and which I would rate as T4+.