| Canigó | |
| Elevation M: | 2784 |
| Prominence M: | 550 |
| Range: | Pyrenees |
| Listing: | Mountains of France |
| Location: | Pyrénées-Orientales, France |
| Map: | Pyrenees |
| Coordinates: | 42.5189°N 2.4567°W |
| First Ascent: | According to tradition, in 1285 by Peter III of Aragon |
| Easiest Route: | hike |
| Fetchwikidata: | ALL |
The Canigó (Catalan; Valencian: Canigó in Catalan; Valencian pronounced as /kəniˈɣo/, in Catalan; Valencian pronounced as /kəniˈɣu/; French: Canigou in French pronounced as /kaniɡu/; Latin: mons Canigosus or Canigonis) is a mountain located in the Pyrenees of southern France.
The Canigó is located less than from the sea and has an elevation of .[1] Due to its sharp flanks and its dramatic location near the coast, until the 18th century the Canigou was believed to be the highest mountain in the Pyrenees.[2]
Being between south and Northern Catalonia, the mountain has a historical symbolical significance for Catalan people.[3]
It is visible from Marseille on the 8th February and 31st October.
The Canigó is located in Pyrénées-Orientales, south of Prades and north of Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste. Its summit lies on the border between two communes: Vernet-les-Bains and Taurinya (although the territories of two other communes - Casteil and Valmanya - approach quite closely to the summit).[4] Its location makes it visible from the plains of Roussillon and from Conflent in France, and as well from Empordà in Spain.[5]
Twice a year, in early February and at the end of October, with good weather, the Canigó can be seen at sunset from as far as Marseille, away, by refraction of light.[6] This phenomenon was observed in 1808 by baron Franz Xaver von Zach from the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica in Marseille. All year long, it can also be seen, with good weather, from Agde, Port-Camargue and the Montagne Noire.
Jeep tracks on the north side of the massif lead to the Chalet des Cortalets (at 2150 m) which is a popular outpost with walkers.
There are two ancient monasteries at the foot of the mountain, Martin-du-Canigou and Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa.
The mountain has symbolical significance for Catalan people. On its summit stands a cross that is often decorated with the Catalan flag.[7] Every year on 23 June, the night before St. John's day (nit de Sant Joan), there is a ceremony called Flama del Canigó. French Catalans carry a flaming torch from Perpignan to the cross and the Catalonian flag on top of the mountain, and people light bonfires throughout the area.[8]
The Canigó inspired the epic poem "Canigó"[9] by Catalan poet Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló. In these verses Verdaguer compares the snowy mountain to a Magnolia flower (pages 27–28):
While he was staying in Vernet-les-Bains in 1911, Kipling wrote about Canigou. In a letter to the Club Alpin, he praised it as a "magician among mountains".
Kipling also wrote a light-hearted short story entitled Why Snow Falls at Vernet. It makes fun of the English habit of always talking about the weather.[10]