Sant Miquel d'Engolasters

Sant Miquel d'Engolasters stands on a shelf above Escaldes with a bell tower of around eighteen metres in the Lombard style, tall out of all proportion to the small nave beside it, and the disproportion is the thing people notice first. The apse was painted in the twelfth century and the murals were removed to Barcelona, where they are in the national museum; a reproduction is shown in the church. Lake Engolasters is a short walk further up.

What you actually see

• The bell tower - around eighteen metres of Lombard masonry above a small nave.
• The disproportion - a tower built far larger than the church it serves.
• The mural reproduction - the copy of the twelfth-century apse paintings.
• The Engolasters shelf - the terrace above Escaldes the church stands on.

When to go

May to October is the pleasant season. Guided visits run at set times and the church is otherwise locked. Winter access depends on the road.

Honest expectations

The church is locked outside guided visit times. The original paintings are in Barcelona, not here. The building is very small and half an hour covers it.

Nearby

Lake Engolasters is above, and Escaldes is below.