![]() This route is available in the summer to every hardy tourist. You can also climb to the top from the south side, from the Mariailles mountain refuge (refuge de Mariailles). The fastest way to reach the summit is to climb from the Cortalets mountain refuge (refuge des Cortalets), which one can reach by jeep. People stay awake the whole night and then they carry the sacred fire all over the Eastern Pyrenees and Catalonia with the help of torches. There is the ceremony called “Flame Canigó” (Flama del Canigó) every year on June 23rd, on the night before San Joan day (la nit de Sant Joan), when the sacred fire is lit at the top. Since Canigou is clearly visible from the sea, this mountain often served as a guide for ancient seafarers (Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans).Īt the top of the mountain, there is a cross decorated with the Catalan flag. People experienced fear, respect, admiration from time immemorial they conquered the mountain top and composed legends and stories about it. The mountain has a symbolic meaning for the Catalan people. The poet compares the snowy mountain with the magnolia flower in his verses.Ĭanigou is the national symbol of Catalonia. This word, being borrowed, apparently changed over time to Canigo.Ĭanigou was the source of inspiration for Jacint Verdagueri Santaló, the Catalan poet. One of these is konos (in Greek) meaning “wedge-shaped top”. There are several assumptions about the mountain name’s origin. There are two ancient monasteries, Martin-du-Canigou and Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, located at the foot of the mountain. ![]() One can see Canigou on a sunny day from Marseille (378 km), as well as from Barcelona (251 km) twice a year, at the beginning of February and at the end of October.īaron Franz Xaver von Zach saw Canigou from the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica in Marseille in 1808. ![]() There is a view from the mountain over the Roussillon and Conflent plains in France and Empordà in Catalonia, Spain. The top of the mountain forms a quadrilateral, each side faces one of four districts: Casteil, Taurinya, Valmanya, and Vernet-les-Bains. They considered it to be the highest mountain in the Pyrenees until the 18th century. Canigó) is the mountain located in the Pyrenees in the South of France, less than 50 kilometers from the sea. ![]()
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