The story goes that in 1223 a shepherd was led by a white bird — a dove, in some versions — to an image of the Virgin hidden in a rock, in the meadows of Canolich in the parish of Sant Julia de Loria. A sanctuary was raised on the spot.
Ever since, people climb up every last Saturday in May for the Aplec de Canolich, one of the best-loved dates in the Andorran calendar, where the famous blessed bread is handed out. Popular tradition reads the name as the Catalan atura't aqui, 'stop here'.
The aplec effectively opens the festival season: the summer village festivals begin a few weeks later.