Vall de Núria



The Vall de Núria mountain resort, with a unique natural and landscape wealth, is located in the Eastern Pyrenees, in the municipality of Queralbs. Being one of the highest points of the Ribes Valley, it is surrounded by summits of almost 3,000 meters where many fountains and torrents are born.


Discover an incomparable environment where the waters of the Núria River filter through narrow and deep gorges carved into the rock until they meet the Freser River in the valley, a river that in Ripoll joins the Ter.


The Vall de Núria station is managed by Turismo y Montaña de Ferrocarriles de la Generalitat de Catalunya, which has always ensured the maintenance of this rich natural heritage, implementing and applying an environmental management system in all the activities carried out. The resort is open all year round and offers facilities for skiing and winter sports, as well as activities in summer: boats on the lake, tubbing, playground, etc.


We propose you to enjoy this spectacular high mountain landscape with a unique transport: the rack railway. The Núria rack railway, inaugurated in 1931, has a distance of 12.5 km and overcomes a slope of more than 1,000 meters.


The legendary origin of Núria...


Núria has a rich legend but, without a doubt, the capital story is that of the discovery of the Virgin Mary. According to legend, Saint Giles, born in Athens, appointed bishop of Nîmes, sculpted the image when he was living as a hermit in the valley between 700 and 703. With the bell he summoned the shepherds of the environment, evangelized them before the cross that he himself had sculpted and also fed them, cooking in a pot. So bell, cross and pot will become symbols of Núria. Preaching is often accompanied by persecution and when this originated, he was forced to leave the valley and left the Virgin hidden in a small cave. In the year 1072, by divine inspiration, a man named Amadeu came from Dalmàcia in search of some relics of Mary. Some shepherds who knew the tradition of San Gil helped him build a modest chapel (origin of the Sanctuary). Absent and Amadeu, the shepherds found the image that was impossible to take in procession to Queralbs, "because he wanted to stay in Núria".


The most recent history...


The geographical situation has determined the history of Núria. The pastures of the valley were the object of compromise between counts and monasteries; A fact that probably explains the origin of the sanctuary. Subsequently, the Treaty of the Pyrenees transformed Núria into a border square and put it in the crosshairs of the military. At the beginning of the twentieth century Núria knows the beginning of mountain and snow sports in Catalonia. It was also the scenario chosen by the Republican Generalitat of Catalonia to draft the draft "the Statute of 1932", which is why it is called "the Statute of Núria". The image of the Virgin Mary of Núria suffered exile, from 1936 to 1942, due to the Civil War and, later, remained kidnapped (1967-1972) by Catalan patriots.


Can Gasparó Hotel Rural & Restaurant is located 9km from the Cremallera de Núria train station.