VISIT SALARDÚ

Capital of the municipality of Naut Aran, with 597 inhabitants and an altitude of 1,268 m., on a rocky elevation to the right of the Garona river, and where it joins with the Unhòla river, which surrounds the core of Salardú to the N and to the E. Due to its strategic location at the entrance to the Valley through the Bonaigua pass, the town was fortified since medieval times.

At the top, where the church stands today, there was the castle of Salardú, the main tower would be the current bell tower. Today, there are few remains of the fortification near the church apse. Some houses with 17th-century windows are preserved instead.

The Main Square centers the old town and has a beautiful 19th-century fountain.

It is worth highlighting, above all, the parish church of Saint Andrew, located at the top, overlooking a lovely square enclosed by a wall. It is a transitional building from the 12th-13th centuries, the door is Romanesque and it has some Gothic windows. The bell tower, one of the most outstanding in the Valley, is octagonal in plan, from the 15th century and forms a separate body from the SW angle; it is very slender and equipped with arrow slits that give it a defensive character.

It celebrates its main festival on May 3rd, "Holy Cross", highly renowned within the Aran. Around the cross of the Holy Christ of Salardú, the rest of the crosses of the other towns of the municipality gather, and at the end of the event, they arrive in procession to the Plaza de la Pica to bless the territory.

On November 30th, "Saint Andrew", patron of Salardú, is celebrated. On October 7th, there is the animal fair, where animals return from mountain pastures at this time.