To counterbalance the 5 days we would spend in the hustle and bustle of Barcelona, Sant Maurici National Park (Parc Nacional d’Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici) in the Spanish Pyrenees seemed like an obvious choice for a hiking destination as it is the only national park in Catalonia, an autonomous Spanish community bordering on France, and just a 3.5-hour drive from Barcelona.

For our first hike we parked in a designated parking area along Carretera d’Espot a Sant Maurici (Llac Sant Maurici parking) 4 kilometres northwest of Espot. The trailhead is well marked and the flat path winding alongside the Riu Escrita, a small river, led through meadowy vales peppered with wildflowers, and woodlands.

Eventually the gradient increased steadily and after an hour we arrived at the highlight of the Espot Valley, Estany de Sant Maurici, set against the backdrop of rugged peaks all-around, and the most magnificent, the sharp twin pinnacles of Els Encantats, rose to our left.

As we enjoyed the scenery two jeeps pulled up a short distance from the lake and half a dozen tourists jumped out with cameras. It always astounds me that some people, perfectly capable of walking, will suffer through a bumpy jeep ride across rough dirt roads just because there is a road, when the experience on foot is so much more gratifying. But then again, they may have been short on time, so if you are too, you have that option (with jeeps leaving from Espot).

The trail section from the lake to the refugio is shared with the multi-day high mountain route Carros de Foc and we followed along the northern lakeshore for about 600m before the path climbed away steeply past waterfalls and busy anthills to Estany de Ratera.

Conifers surrounded the lake at 2100m, but with increasing elevation as we approached the subalpine zone, the colours in the scenery were reduced to the greys of scree and rubble fields in between the blues of the lakes and the sky and the patches of green became increasingly scarce. Continuing further on a steady uphill climb we passed by the lakes Estanyola de Ratera and Estany de la Bassa and revelled in the spectacular views of the valley as we drew closer to the Refugio d’Amitges at 2380m with a large outdoor patio to enjoy the panorama.

The return route brought us back to the trail junction at Estanyola de Ratera where we turned right instead of heading down to Lake Ratera. Even if you want to head back the same way, you should still venture a little further along the path forking off to the right until Mirador de l’Estany at 2170m.

From there, you’ll have the best vistas of the elongated valley sprawled at your feet yet and steep slopes plunging into Lake Sant Maurici that is dominated by the sharp twin-peaks of Els Encantats to the right along the entire route.

From the viewpoint the path descended steadily along the southern side of the lake back to its easternmost tip from where we retraced our steps downhill to the starting point. If you enjoyed this hike, you’ll probably like hiking to Estany Negro de Peguera just as much.