Andorran Alps

Andorran Alps

The whole of Andorra is mountainous, with 65 mountain peaks in total. The highest mountain is the Coma Pedrosa, which rises to 2942 m in the north-west of Andorra, close to the French and Spanish borders. The highest mountains are along the French border, from west to east. The flora of the Pyrenees is made up of around 4,500 species, of which around 160 are endemic. Among the trees, it is worth mentioning the pines of the high mountains, the beech trees and the pines in the mid-mountains, followed by the oaks and chestnut trees on the foothills. The Pyrenees is a large area with a varied climate, which makes its fauna very diverse from one zone to another. A total of 42 mammal species live here. In the Basque Country, the Pottok or Pyrenean Horse is symbolic. Meanwhile, Brown Bear is the animal most associated with much of the central Pyrenees, although there are only few left there. Other typical but not exclusive species of the Pyrenees are: the Common Kestrels, marmots, Wild Boar, chamois, wolf, deer, Iberian Lynx, eagle, falcon, etc. Some endemic species have already become extinct, such as the Pyrenean Goat or the Stone Goat, the latter mysteriously dying out between 1998 and 2001. Among the birds, the undisputed king is the Bearded Vulture, extinct in almost all of Europe, it is estimated that there are 500 to 600 left. Other birds in the Pyrenees are the Royal Eagle, Bee-Eater, Red and Black Kite, the Falcon, the Common Kestrel, the Pyrenean Owl or the very rare Boreal Owl, as well as the Griffon Vulture, the Egyptian Vulture and the Black Vulture. Additionally, the Wood Grouse, in clear danger of extinction on the southern slope, is actually well conserved in the north. In the high mountains lives one of the Pyrenean jewels, the Ptarmigan, with 700 pairs. Endemic wildlife of the Pyrenees include: the Pyrenean Cow, the Pyrenean Sand Lizard, the Asp Viper, the Pyrenean Newt, the Gerbe’s Vole, Bruna dels Pirineus, the Pyrenean Mountain Dog and Pyrenean Desman.