Lerida
Lérida (Catalan: Lleida, Spanish: Lérida) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name, and has 119,935 inhabitants as of 2004. Its main industries are agriculture and tourism.
It is a bilingual Catalan-speaking town and province, with a characteristic dialect (known as Western or, more specifically, North-Western Catalan) with features such as lo and los for the definite article. Castilian Spanish is spoken by everyone as well.
In ancient times it was named Iltrida and Ilerda (after the Ilergets, an Iberian tribe). The Battle of Ilerda, fought between Julius Caesar and Pompeius took place in 49 BC. It was conquered from the Moors by the Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1148. It was the seat of a major university until 1717. Lleida served as a key defense point for Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, and fell to the Insurgents in 1938.
Lérida is currently the eastern terminus of the Spanish state railway’s AVE high-speed rail line, serving Zaragoza, Calatayud, Guadalajara, and Madrid. The line is expected to be extended to Barcelona in the next few years.
Attractive in Lerida
The caves are one of the testimonies of the evolution of the humanity. The regions of Lleida, from the mountain ranges of the PrePyrenean one to Pyrenean the axial one, count on vestiges of the presence of the human being in more than a twenty of shelters and caves with cave paintings, declared Patrimony of the Humanity by UNESCO in 1998.
Caves and cavities that have given rise to myths and legend like the one of the Grallera of the Coll of l’Olla, where they say that a treasure hides, or the hole of the Grallera in Durro, that is so deep that it arrives at the same hell.
It was not until end of century XIX when, in France, Alfred Martel began to make systematic explorations in the caves and cavities and thus began what today we know like espeleología.
In the regions of Lleida this activity did not begin to have force until entered good century XX, as of the decade of the 50, with the first campaigns in the mountain range of Montsec. In 1956 the section GELL was created (Grup Espeleològic Lleidatà), that in 2006 will celebrate his 50º anniversary.
Lerida tourism and travel information
The beauty of the ample valley, the luminosity of their numerous lakes, the millenarian forests and the landscapes of high mountain makes a paradise for the lovers of the nature. The ways and routes are many that are signalized all over the region to facilitate the strolls or on foot or in mountain bicycle. To his step the traveller will be able to discover important species animals and vegetables that have motivated the build-up of reserves of hunting, fish and Natural Park.
In this scene the practice is ideal from numerous sports that in direct bonding with the nature allow you to live unforgettable sensations. Strolls to horse, golf, hunt, fish, sports of adventure like rafting, the reduction of precipices or puenting is some of the activities that you can make the Lerida and its environs.
But, without a doubt, the ski is the sport stars of the region that counts on magnificent alpine ski resorts like the one of the Molina and Masella in the municipality of Alp, and Nordic ski like the one of Lles, Aransa and Guils Fontanera.
The quality of their tourist services has caused that, traditionally, is considered as one of the nuclei of more important sports of winter of Spain.