Sorteny Valley Natural Park

The Sorteny valley runs north from El Serrat into the mountains above Ordino, and the park covering it protects an unusually rich alpine flora: more than seven hundred and fifty plant species are recorded in a valley of around a thousand hectares, including several found only in the Pyrenees. A botanical garden near the entrance groups them, and trails run up the valley to a refuge and on to the ridges above.

What you actually see

• The alpine flora - well over a thousand species in a small valley.
• The botanical garden - the collection grouping the Pyrenean plants near the entrance.
• The valley trails - the routes up to the refuge and the ridges.
• The Pyrenean endemics - the species found nowhere outside the range.

When to go

June to September is when the flowers are out and the trails are clear. Snow closes the upper valley from around November. July is the peak of the flowering.

Honest expectations

The upper valley holds snow into early summer. The road up from El Serrat is narrow. The refuge is small and books out.

Nearby

El Serrat is below, and Ordino is south.