Canillo

**Canillo** is one of the seven parishes of Andorra. It is in the northeast of the country. Canillo is also the name of the main town of the parish.

The town of Canillo is the religious centre of Andorra because here is the _Mare de Déu de Meritxell_ ("Our Lady of Meritxell") Basilica. Our Lady of Meritxell is the patron saint of Andorra.

## Geography

The Canillo parish is in the northeastern part of the country and borders with the Ariège department to the north and east, with the Pyrénées-Orientales department (France) to the southeast, with the Encamp parish to the south and the Ordino parish to the west.

The highest mountain in the parish is _Pic de l'Estanyó_ () with an elevation of  above sea level; it is on the border with the Ordino parish.

The main river in Canillo is the _Valira d'Orient_, also known as _Valira d’Encamp_.

The largest lake of Andorra, _Estany de Juclà_ ("Juclar lake"), is in the Canillo parish; it has an area of .

## Population

The parish had a population, in 2015,  of 4,124 inhabitants, for a population density of  persons/km².

**Evolution of the population in Canillo**

## Villages

The urban areas in the parish are:

|No.|Town|Population <small>(2015)</small> !! Altitude <small>(m)</small> !! Notes|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1|L'Aldosa de Canillo|194|1,675|Also known simply as L'Aldosa.|
|2|**Canillo**|1,977|1,531|The capital of the parish.|
|3|El Forn|75|2,178|Also known as _Les Cases del Forn_.|
|4|El Tarter|672|1,721|On the right side of the _Valira d'Orient_ river.|
|5|El Vilar|9|1,675|Also known as _El Vilar de Canillo_. On the right side of the _Valira d'Orient_ river.|
|6|Els Plans|11|1,722||
|7|Incles|330|1,925|On the right side of the _Incles_ river.|
|8|Meritxell|62|1,527|On the right side of the _Valira d'Orient_ river. Here is the Our Lady of Meritxell Basilica.|
|9|Prats|51|1,326||
|10|Ransol|184|1,745|On the right side of the _Valira d'Orient_ river.|
|11|Soldeu|559|1,825|On the right side of the _Valira d'Orient_ river.|

## Economy

The main economic activity is tourism and the parish is a major tourism destination during winter.

## Sites of interest

- **The new Our Lady of Meritxell Basilica** in Meritxell.
- **Sant Joan de Caselles** church. It is similar to the church in Mérens-les-Vals, Ariège, France.
- **Valley of the Incles river** with the _Estany de Juclà_ ("Juclar lake"), the largest lake of Andorra.
- **Soldeu-El Tarter** ski resort, part of the Grandvalira ski resort.

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Canillo
- **settlement type**: Parishes of Andorra, Parish
- **image skyline**: Sant Joan de Caselles4.jpg
- **image alt**: Sant Joan de Caselles church
- **image caption**: Sant Joan de Caselles church
- **image flag**: Hypothetical flag of Canillo.svg
- **image shield**: Escut de Canillo.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **image map**: Canillo in Andorra.svg
- **mapsize**: 270px
- **map alt**: Canillo in Andorra
- **map caption**: Canillo parish, in red, in Andorra
- **pushpin map narrow**: yes
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision name**: Andorra
- **parts type**: Villages
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: #Villages, See list
- **seat type**: Capital city, Capital
- **seat**: Canillo
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **leader name**: Josep Mandicó Calvó
- **unit pref**: Métrico
- **area total km2**: 121
- **elevation m**: 1530
- **population total**: 4124
- **population as of**: 2015
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: canillencs
- **timezone**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset**: +1
- **timezone dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset dst**: +2
- **postal code type**: Postal code
- **postal code**: AD100
- **iso code**: AD-02
- **website**: [http://www.canillo.ad/ Official website]