It isn't even necessary to present the nature reserves: the park of Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici is situated in the high mountains, unique by the magnificence of its landscapes and the wealth of fauna and flora, surprising by its hydrography, composed by nearly 200 lakes and brooks, and is governed with the most rigorous ecological norms. An excursion in such an intact and beautiful landscape will inevitably remain stamped in the memory forever. About ten kilometres more to the south, the Vall de Boí stretches with its total of nine Roman churches, declared to World Heritage by UNESCO, for its state of conservation and the quality of the frescos which decor the walls. The recently opened Centre of Interpretation of Roman Art in Erill la Vall makes the understanding of this magnificent architecture available to everybody, young or older people and facilitates the visit of these churches, accessible to the public during the all year. Very close, at Pont de Suert, the society 'La Petjada', managed by two biologists, passionate of nature, propose thematic itineraries which guide the participants trough the oak forests looking for rests of old traditions and folk stories. The purpose of these biologists consists in updating the natural habitat evolution, caused by the constant migrations of the animals, and in observing the impact of the human being on the environment.


Near by 'The Centre of Reproduction and Protection' of the otters is situated, which takes care of the wounded specimens or orphans before releasing them in the zones where they disappeared. This exotic animal species living in a semi aquatic natural habitat is an excellent detector of the health of the rivers. The otter partially lives in the continent to repose and partially in the water fishing out fishes, crabs and frogs. Halfway up to the capital city, the 'Ruta de los Buitres' (The route of the vultures) in the Terreta valley is inescapable.


With a good pair of glasses it's very easy to observe the eagles like the osprey, the griffon vulture and the Egyptian vulture in their impressive corporations. The site with the less visual contamination of the whole Catalonian territory is situated more to the South. This area is also called the Black Hole of Catalonia! Accompanied by the guides of 'El Pterodàctil del Pla d'Agulló', the visitors can observe, in spite of the coldness of the night, the stars in between of two sessions of astro-photography.


In the same enclave, the auditorium 'Mas Portal' dedicates to the apprenticeship of nature and helps with the interpretation and the multi- disciplinary knowledge of the environment, by stays for all kind of groups. Another ingenious project, invented and worked out by the experts of the society 'Geodiscovering': seek gold 'like in those days' in the Noguera Pallaresa River. This isn't a joke. There is gold... And it isn't impossible to find some little nuggets. They also give a complete overview of the geology, the biology and the ethnography of the area and a lot of universities of the whole world come up to visit them.


The fans of the gastronomy must definitely visit the 'Fundació Parc Temàtic de l'Oli' at Borges Blanques. In the middle of millenarian olive trees of Roman times, visitors will discover the importance of the olive oil in the Catalan culture and admire the impressive red juicers, the collection of cruets of 45 different countries and the biggest juicer of the world!