La Massana

**La Massana** (originally _La Maçana_) is one of the seven parishes of Andorra. It is in the northwest of the country. La Massana is also the name of the main town of the parish.

The name Massana derives from the Latin name _mattianam_ for a variety of apple.

## Geography

The La Massana parish is in the northwest of the country and borders with the Ordino parish to the north, with the Ordino and Encamp parishes to the east, with the Andorra la Vella and the Escaldes-Engordany parishes to the south, with France (Ariège department) and Spain to the west.

The town of La Massana has an average elevation of  above sea level.

In the La Massana parish are the highest mountains of Andorra, including:
- _Coma Pedrosa_ (),  high, the highest mountain of the country; it is in the northwest of the parish near the borders with France and Spain.
- _Roca Entravessada_,  high
- _Pic de Medacorba_,  high
- _Pic de Sanfonts_,  high

The main river in the parish is the _Valira del Nord_ (or _Valira d'Ordino_) river, one of the two branches that form the Valira river. There are several small lakes in the parish; the main lakes are _Estanys Forcats_, _Estany de Les Truites_ and _Estany Negre_.

## Population

The parish had a population, in 2015, of 10,359 inhabitants, for a population density of  persons/km².

**Evolution of the population in La Massana**

## Villages

There are other villages and hamlets besides the main town of La Massana in the parish:

|No.|Town|Population <small>(2015)</small> !! Altitude <small>(m)</small> !! Notes|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1|Aldosa|843|1,296|Also known as L'Aldosa de la Massana. It is on the left side of the Valira d'Ordino river close to the Ordino parish.|
|2|Anyós|847|1,307|It is on the left side of the Valira d'Ordino (or Valira del Nord) river and on the right side of the Anyós river, just before the confluence of the rivers.|
|3|Arinsal|1,620|1,467|It is on the left side of the Arinsal river.|
|4|Erts|473|1,340|It is at the confluence of the Pal and Arinsal rivers.|
|5|Escàs|162|1,343|It is on the right side of the Valira d'Ordino river.|
|6|**La Massana**|5,371|1,240|The capital of the parish. It is at the confluence of the Valira d'Ordino and Arinsal rivers.|
|7|Pal|260|1,551|It is along Pal river.|
|8|Sispony|886|1,315||

## Economy

The main economic activity is tourism and the parish is a major tourism destination. In winter, the main activities are skiing, snowboarding, and ski ski biking. The main ski resort, Vallnord, includes the Arinsal and Pal sectors. In summer, the main activities are hiking, climbing, mountain biking and canyoning.

Farming is also an important economic activity in the parish; here tobacco, vegetables (mainly potatoes), and cereals are grown.

## Sites of interest

- **Sant Ermengol de l'Aldosa** church in Aldosa
- **Sant Climent de Pal** church in Pal
- **Pont de Sant Antoni de la Grella**, a bridge also called **Pont de Sispony**
- **Museu Casa Rull**, a museum of Ethnology in Sispony
- **Vallnord**, a ski/snowboard resort in the Pyrenees mountains

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: La Massana
- **settlement type**: Parishes of Andorra, Parish
- **image skyline**: LaMassana 01.jpg
- **image alt**: The towns of La Massana and Ordino
- **image caption**: The towns of La Massana and Ordino (in the foreground)
 viewed from the peak of Casamanya (2740 m)
- **image flag**: Hypothetical flag of La Massana.svg
- **image shield**: Coat of Arms of La Massana.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **mapsize**: 100px
- **pushpin map**: Andorra
- **pushpin image**: La Massana in Andorra.svg
- **pushpin map caption**: Location of La Massana town within Andorra
- **map caption**: Position of La Massana parish in Andorra
- **subdivision type**: Countries of the world, Country
- **subdivision type1**: Parishes of Andorra, Parishes
- **subdivision type2**: Villages
- **subdivision name**: Andorra
- **subdivision name1**: La Massana
- **subdivision name2**: Anyós, Arinsal, El Pui, Erts, Escàs, L'Aldosa, La Massana, L'Aldosa, Mas de Ribafeta, Pal, Andorra, Pal,
 Puiol del Piu, Sispony, Xixerella
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **leader name**: David Baró Riba
- **area total km2**: 65
- **population as of**: 2015
- **population total**: 10359
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: massanenc, massanenca
- **timezone**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset**: +1
- **timezone dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset dst**: +2
- **coor pinpoint**: La Massana town
- **elevation max m**: 2942
- **elevation min m**: 1134
- **iso code**: AD-04
- **postal code**: AD400
- **website**: [http://www.lamassana.ad/ Official site]