Mount Canigó

Le Canigó in Catalan, Le Canigou in French, rises up to 2,784 meters above sea level and graces almost every view in the region. Legend has it the first ascent up was in 1284 by Peter King of Aragon–he supposedly battled dragons to make the climb.

Today, the mount is honored by those who live beneath it as the symbol of Catalonia. Every year for the festival of St. Jean just after the summer solstice, a flame is carried up the mountain to the peak where a huge bonfire is lit, signaling the lighting of fires in villages all over Catalonia. In years when the weather is clear, it truly is a sight to be seen. Fire, fire on the mountain…

• January 16, 2014