rile Val d’Aran Church at Vila 
THE VAL D’ARAN 
By Albert Touchard 
A LL foreigners who have traveled in Southern 
^ ^ France know the celebrated health resort of 
Luchon and its vicinity, Lys Valley and Port de Ven- 
asque, that are reckoned amongst the most pictur¬ 
esque scenery of the Pyrenees. 
But people hardly know, if they know at all, the 
neighboring valley of the Garonne, the valley which 
under the name of “Val d’Aran” stretches through 
St. Beat, Les, the frontier of Spain and extends as far 
as Viella, a curious, little, old city, crouched at the 
foot of the high mountains of Port de Viella, where 
carriage roads come to an end and are replaced by 
narrow mule paths. 
d his rich valley, with its ever changing scenery, is 
1 he Garonne at Les 
but little frequented by tourists, although the road, as 
far as Viella, is very good and suitable for motoring. 
As soon as October begins, the mountains that 
encircle it offer an unexplored paradise to hunters; 
after the first fall of snow you can hunt bears, which, 
after all, are not rare in this part of the Pyrenees. 
The amateur of old architecture will find here, in 
almost every village and especially in Viella, ancient 
churches, bridges and curious oldish houses, which 
of course, are worth visiting. 
Whilst going up the picturesque Val d’Aran, the 
traveler will feel strongly impressed by the transition 
from mild, rich and cultivated France, to the wild, 
forlorn, mediaeval solitude of Spanish Aragon. 
Bridge at Viella 
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236 
