In El Ripollès we know just how immeasurably valuable our heritage is and it gives us enormous pleasure to be able to share it with everyone; enabling people to enjoy all the Pyrenees has to offer, while respecting the region to ensure its sustainability. As such, visitors have the opportunity to discover a landscape, accredited under the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (ECST), where they can enjoy a wide variety of experiences that showcase nature in all its splendour, with snow-covered landscapes and skiing during the winter months and lush greenery in the spring. It is a land of quaint villages and charming streets, rural life and good food, gastronomy and lively local shops, all set against a backdrop of a prized historical legacy.

In El Ripollès, its heritage is its people, its nature and the cultural attributes that imbue it with personality. A county regulated by a variety of environmental protection bodies, where you can revel in treasured tranquillity and enjoy a well-earned rest. Capçaleres del Ter i del Freser Natural Park is the epitome of just that. Designated in 2015, it is not only an extraordinary setting for the development of one of the region’s most valuable assets, livestock farming, but also includes peaks such as Puigmal, Bastiments, Balandrau, Noucreus, Noufonts and Costabona.

In 2019, the natural park was awarded ECST certification and the commitment to sustainable tourism was, thereby, extended throughout the entire Ripollès region. The charter provides the region with a sustainable tourism strategy agreed in partnership with local stakeholders, which works to promote the continuous improvement between  tourism development, the natural areas and the needs of all stakeholders who live and work there. It is a guarantee of our commitment to support tourist activities that respect the environment.

The ECST initiative arose from a need to reconcile the public use of the natural park with the conservation of the natural environment and its resources, minimising the negative impacts that tourism can have, while contributing to the local socio-economic development generated by the tourist industry. And these objectives are also strongly advocated by the tourist companies that operate in the region, offering visitors an infinite range of activities to enjoy, while ensuring the preservation of the natural park and introducing ongoing improvements in terms of sustainable management.

A big thank you to everyone for helping us make El Ripollès a model of sustainable tourism!