The Núria-Puigmal project was created with the aim of better understanding the touristic, social and environmental reality of the cross-border space between Vall de Núria and the Massís del Puigmal, a unique area shared between Catalonia and Northern Catalonia. It is an area of great landscape, heritage and identity value, as well as a space that faces important challenges linked to pressure from tourism, territorial coordination and the need to build more sustainable models for the future.
This is a cross-border project, funded by the Casa de la Generalitat in Perpignan and carried out in collaboration with the University of Girona (INSETUR and UNESCO Chair of Cultural Policies and Cooperation) and the University of Perpignan Via Domitia. While the work on the Catalan side focuses mainly on the Vall de Ribes, the University of Perpignan is conducting research on the French side, in municipalities in the Puigmal massif such as Llo, Err and Eyna.
The main objective of the project is to analyse the impact of tourist activity on this environment and to identify opportunities for advancing towards more responsible, sustainable and regenerative tourism, which contributes to the well-being of the local population and better liveability in the territory. Within this framework, the project focuses both on the municipalities of Vall de Ribes and on the cross-border dimension of Puigmal, understanding that the flows, uses and challenges of the territory do not stop at the administrative frontier.
To do this, the project combines fieldwork, interviews, data analysis and participatory processes. Visits have been made to several municipalities and key spaces in the territory, semi-structured interviews with public and private agents, conversations with workers in the service sector, participatory sessions with students and the collection of socio-economic and tourist data, including information on mobility, visibility and the load capacity of Puigmal. At the same time, a participatory session was held ("Fem bullir l'olla” workshop at the Parc Natural) and a session with the Institut Escola de Ribes de Freser.
Some key elements identified are: a strong dependence on tourism, diverse and often polarised opinions on its role in the territory, a lack of coordination between municipalities and the need to strengthen cross-border collaboration. At the same time, spaces such as the Sancturari de Núria play a central role in local identity, while generating diverse views on their current tourist uses.
The project is also based on data that help to contextualise this reality. The Parc Natural de les Capçaleres del Ter i del Freser recorded an influx of around 485,000 visits a year, while the Puigmal capacity study warned that, although the overall thresholds were not exceeded every year, episodes of occasional overcrowding occurred in July and August, especially at the top of Puigmal and on the Fontalba track.
At the same time, Vall de Núria continues to be one of the great centres of attraction in the region. In 2024, the Cremallera de Núria train recorded 227,460 visitors, a figure that confirms the centrality of this space within the whole of the Vall de Ribes and its importance as a gateway to experiences of nature, heritage, spirituality and family leisure.
Beyond the analysis, Núria-Puigmal aims to become a space for dialogue and co-creation. For this reason, it promotes focus groups, public debates and working groups with local stakeholders to jointly imagine new future scenarios. The proposed lines include the redistribution of tourist flows, deseasonalisation, the creation of regenerative tourism proposals, the connection with local products and the construction of a shared perspective on the cross-border value of the territory.
In short, the Núria-Puigmal project aims to contribute to rethinking this mountain space not only as a tourist destination, but as a living territory, with heritage, community and landscape, where future development must be built from the balance between conservation, quality of life and shared opportunities.
