The Gran Valira is a river in the Pyrenees, a tributary of the Segre on the right that forms the hydrology of Andorra and part of the Urgellet. It drains a large part of the country, with the exception of the solana d’Andorra, which is on the slopes of the Arieja.
The Gran Valira originates in the cirque dels Pessons, in the parish of Encamp (Andorra), and flows into the Segre, in the municipality of La Seu D’Urgell (Catalonia, Spain, Alt Urgell), once past the city. The Valira river system is 35 kilometers long.
The Valira is Y-shaped: the upper arms are the Valira del Nord (passes Ordino and La Massana) and the Valira d’Orient (passes Encamp, Canillo) and join the parish of Escaldes-Engordany and after crosses Andorra la Vella and Sant Julià de Lòria.
In its common section after the aguabarreig it is also called Gran Valira.
Photo: Enzo Rodrigues
One of the tributaries of the Valira is the Runer River, which acts as a natural boundary between Andorra and Alt Urgell.
The N-145 in Alt Urgell and CG-1 in Andorra circulate following the banks of the river.
See here Catalonia travel guide
See here Pyrenees travel guide
See here France travel guide
See here Spain travel guide
