Follow the bear’s tracks above Encamp
The Funicamp begins to climb and Encamp slowly disappears below. Beyond the windows, the view opens onto mountain slopes, footpaths and a side of Grandvalira where ski boots give way to hiking shoes. From 11 July to 8 September 2026, families will have a new reason to make the journey: Les petjades de l’Ossa, one of the new family activities in Grandvalira this summer.
The aim is not simply to reach the top. Children receive an activity passport and complete challenges along the way, following the bear’s tracks towards Solanelles.
A Grandvalira family activity that starts below
The experience begins at the Funicamp base station with the first two activities. It then stops at the intermediate station in the Cortals valley before continuing to the Solanelles platform.
The challenges give children something to look for, solve and record in their passports throughout the journey. The final stop is Petjades Enlairades, a large bear sculpture by Andorran artist Naiara Galdós.
Its metal layers resemble the contour lines on a topographic map. Sky, rock and grass remain visible through the sculpture, changing its shape depending on where you stand. Rather than simply stopping in front of it, families can walk around the bear and watch it appear and fade into the landscape.
The day can also include a themed children’s menu at Grandvalira’s mountain restaurants.
More family activities from the Funicamp
Les petjades de l’Ossa works best as the starting point for a full day outdoors. Families can adapt the plan to the children’s ages, their energy levels and how much walking they feel like doing.
From Solanelles, a 4×4 bus runs towards Cubil lake and the Cubil orri. A guided visit introduces families to the area’s pastoral history and to the way people once lived and worked in Andorra’s high mountains.
Families can also take part in supervised catch-and-release fishing at Cubil lake. Walkers can choose from hiking trails of different levels, while cyclists have access to mountain-bike and e-bike routes.
At the intermediate Funicamp station in Cortals, older children and adults can try the Clots de l’Aspra via ferrata with specialist guides. The area also has a Tibetan bridge and an outdoor climbing wall.
There is no need to fit everything into one visit. Some families may complete the bear trail and have lunch at altitude. Others can add Cubil lake, a walk, an e-bike ride or a guided climbing activity.
A bear connected to Encamp’s heritage
The sculpture draws on the Ball de l’Ossa d’Encamp, part of the Bear Festivities in the Pyrenees. These festivities were inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2022.
The same bear silhouette is also being used to identify a network of 21 natural sites across the parish. It creates a visible connection between lakes, summits, local traditions and the mountain landscape.
This project coincides with the first administrative steps towards a future Circ dels Pessons Natural Park, intended to protect one of Encamp’s distinctive glacial landscapes. Parents do not need to turn the outing into a lesson. It is enough for children to sense that these mountains have stories, old ways of life and places worth looking after.
In summer, Solanelles is all paths, grass and exposed rock. A few months later, snow covers the slopes and Grandvalira once again fills with the sound of ski edges. The trail may leave one final track behind: the desire to return to Andorra when December arrives, stay in Pas de la Casa and see the same mountains dressed for winter.
