A magical spot
On the way to Port de Portilhon, the place where the Vall d´Arán ends and the French area of Haute Garonne starts, we decided to stop and change our direction following a path that caught our eye “The Meadow of the Witches”. A place known for its ancient witches Sabbaths which were believed to be held here.
The legends have it that Aranese witches gathered here in this meadow and by means of their witchcraft they ate up anyone that despised them or mocked them. In 1510 one of the most famous witches of Bossòst was burned alive in the forest.
Along the route we were surprised to see how devastated this forest is and later we found out that in February of 2010 a brutal hurricane called Xynthia with winds blowing at around 200 kms per hour, destroyed the forest of Portilhon. The view at times is terrible and you find remnants of trees that have ghostly shapes, yet Nature is wise and gradually the forest is recovering.
