Route with snowshoes in the Mirador del Pla de la Leche from El Fornell

La Cerdanya, with its soft reliefs and quite high, is an ideal terrain to start snowshoeing. The surroundings of the Nordic ski resorts of Guils, Lles and Aransa are a good option to try snowshoes for the first time.

In the case of the Aransa station, one of the signposted routes goes up to the Mirador de la Llet, a place with good views of the entire Cerdanya.

• Difficulty: Low. Ideal route for initiation in snowshoes if there is snow.
• Unevenness: 323 m of accumulated rise.
• Time: about 3:30 to 4:00 (we took it very easy).
• Kilometers: 7.8 km.
• Variants: from the Aransa ski resort there is also another very typical route to the Estanys de la Pera (about 13 km if you want to climb to the top).

During the winter, the entire route is marked with red marks from the Nordic ski resort, so there is no loss at any time. In addition, a large part of the route passes next to a cross-country ski track.

So, from the Fornell restaurant, we go to the left and continue next to the Nordic ski track "Pedres Blanques", following the red markings. After about five minutes, the path turns to the left and enters the forest.

We continue planning for a long time through the black pine forest of Aransa. On our right we will always have the Nordic ski track, in some sections further away and in others almost parallel to the snowshoe path. This part of the route is very beautiful and flat, we go through the forest and cross small streams with bridges. It depends on whether or not it has snowed a lot during the winter, it is possible that in the sunniest sections or under some trees there are discontinuous sections of snow.

After 2 kilometers (about 45-50 min at a gentle pace), we will leave behind the Nordic ski track and begin to climb through the forest to find the Les Collades pass. In this section, a large part of the unevenness of the route is overcome. In about 15-20 minutes, we arrive at Les Collades next to another Nordic ski track, the " Mirador ".

From here we will already have good views of a good part of La Cerdanya on one side, and of Cadí and Alt Urgell on the other. Before us we see the objective of the day, the Mirador del Pla de la Leche, well upholstered by the black pine forest.

To get there, we gently climb the path marked by snowshoes that runs very close to the Nordic ski slope. In about 10 minutes from the pass, we arrive at a first "foreground" with an excellent view of the entire Sierra del Cadí. We continue up next to the ski slope and in about 15 more minutes we reach the top, a landing with a viewpoint to sit and enjoy the views of the entire Cerdanya.

To return, we will undo the path we have gone up.

Authorship photographs and text: Sergi Boixader