The Name Baqueira & Aran
A short note on where the names Baqueira, Beret and Val d'Aran come from.
Baqueira & Aran: The Quick Answer
Baqueira Beret is the ski resort in the Val d'Aran, a valley in the Catalan Pyrenees (Lleida) on the northern side of the range, against the French border.
The name is generally traced to a local "valley of the valley" — the Basque root aranplus Romance val, both meaning valley.
The valley's own language is Aranese, a variety of Gascon Occitan — the only place in Spain where Occitan is official.
Where the Name Comes From
Aran derives its name from an old Basque/Aquitanian word for valley — the same root behind the Basque haran. With val also meaning valley, Val d'Aran ends up meaning "valley of the valley", a small tautological quirk of history.
Baqueira and Beret are Aranese place names from the mountain pastures the resort was built on — Beret being the high plateau above the base. The resort took the joined name when it opened in 1964.
Why We're Called Baqueira.net
We named the site after the place it covers — Baqueira, the ski resort and the Val d'Aran around it. It's the name you'll see on road signs, hotel fronts and bus destinations along this corner of the Pyrenees. Read about the resort itself in our About Baqueira guide.
Explore Baqueira
Discover the pistes, the villages, and the food that give Baqueira its character.