Tristaina lakes from L’Hortell

We take the CG3 road to the Ordino-Arcalís Ski Resort and pass through the yellow-painted tunnel in commemoration of the Tour de France, which takes us to the base of the ski resort. Leaving the tunnel, on the right we find the signpost for the mountain path to access the Tristaina glacial cirque, consisting of a string of three ponds.
Before reaching Primer Lake, we can enjoy the views over the area’s marshlands, which provide for a wide variety of habitats and for both animal and plant species.
Once we reach the pass, we follow the road towards the first lake, Primer, which is the smallest of the three. Along the route we can find one of the most abundant subalpine bushes in Andorra, the abarset (Rhododendron ferrugineum), which in summer produces clusters of pink-red bell-shaped flowers. The underside of the leaves is covered with rust-like spots that give it its scientific name ferrugineum.
We cross a bridge and skirt the lake on the right in the direction of El Mig, or the middle lake, which will take us to the viewpoint, where we will have spectacular views over the lakes and the glacial cirque. On the right we will leave the lake of Més Amunt (the one further up) on the right and we reach the middle lake, where it is very common to find those fishing for river trout (Salmo trutta fario).
From here we continue the path that will take us to the pass to start heading down to the car park.