DRY STONE ROUTE IN THE MADRIU-PERAFITA-CLAROR VALLEY

This route, with an approximate duration of 6 hours and 30 minutes, takes us into the interior of the valley, from the Mountain Path to Claror. The objective of this itinerary is to visit on-site a sample of the dry stone heritage found in the valley, and along the way, we will see examples of the different models that make up the repertoire of constructions of this kind.

In 2004, the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley was inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List as a cultural landscape. The value of the valley lies in the fact that it is a natural space where humans have intervened over time to derive profit through traditional economic practices. The dry stone constructions constitute the main tangible evidence of this intervention in the valley, as they are structures originated from the main human activities practiced at different altitudes: agriculture at the bottom of the valley, with terraces and boundary walls; forestry, which has left us with charcoal platforms and shoots; livestock farming, with huts, folds, and sheepfolds; and communication routes, the pathways.

Additionally, the itinerary will take us to discover one of the lesser-known corners of this natural landscape, the lower part of the Claror Valley, passing through the valleys of Madriu and Perafita to reach it. This journey goes beyond a simple walk or mountain sport; it allows us to understand the imprint that humans have left throughout history, a heritage that speaks of other times, of ways of life that have passed but are part of our identity and lie at the crossroads of ethnology and archaeology.