NIU DE L'ÀLIGA(2510m.)-SERRAT DE LES ESPOSES (1511m.)

Positive denivelation: 360 m
Negative denivelation: 1.455 m
Hours: 5 h

Making our way down from La Tosa by the GR150-1 we have to negotiate a scree slope, after which the path evens out and wends its way gently through open woodland and meadlows. Coll de Jou, a mountain pass formerly used by smugglers and resistance fighters, is the start of a climb up to Penyes Altes at 2.279 m. This peak has provided many a hillwalker with their first experience of the mountains, the visitors book at the summit bearing testimony to the popularity of the mountain.

Descending to Pla de Moixero we find a fine example of an alpine meadow with an interesting mixture of pasture and woodland species, horses and cows feeding alongside chamois and choughs. We leave the long-distance path at this point and head north, descending through woods of larch and Spanish pine with their undergrowth of Genista purgens and Rhodo, ferrugineum, black woodpecker, Tengmalm’s owl and crossbill are regulars here. A final climb takes us to the mountain refuge Serrat de les Esposes (1.511 m), a popular spot in Cerdanya and with an interesting legend behind its name.