The World Retreat takes place in Vall de Boí, a valley in the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees, bordering the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. The valley is best known for its thousand-year old Romanesque churches, which make it the site of the densest concentration of Romanesque architecture in Europe, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The retreat takes place at Boí Taüll Resort, 1600 meters above sea level. The surroundings are stunningly beautiful, the air is fresh and the climate pleasant. The resort includes parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, tennis courts, and mini-golf courses. The nearby mountains are 3000 meters high.
After long meditations, few things can beat a leisurely walk with fellow meditators in the forests, grasslands and mountains nearby. Such conversations may linger in your memory for years.
If you wish, you may join a number of organised walks. On the first day, the organised walk will simply ensure that you get well acquainted with the resort area, including the location of the different hotels, the venues for different activities, the swimming pool, tennis courts, mini-golf courses, the nearby pavilion Mirador de la Vall and the hermitage of Sant Quirc de Taüll, as well as a number of paths criss-crossing the area.
Two of the organised walks go along the Sant Martí river to the nearby village of Taüll, including the Romanesque churches of Sant Climent and Santa Maria, both of which were consecrated in 1123. Sant Climent is the largest, most well preserved, and has the most outstanding architecture of all the churches in Vall de Boí; it also has a fascinating light show demonstrating with fantastic realism what the inner walls of the church looked like in different historical periods. Santa Maria has the charm and ambience of a church that has not been singled out for tourist purposes.
One walk will take you across the river along a path to the Mirador de les Curilles, with fabulous views along the way. If you are brave, you may stop for a dip in the river on the way back.