The municipality of Saldes, located between the Serra del Cadí, the Serra d’Ensija and the Costafreda precipices, is dominated by Pedraforca mountain (2,497m at the Pollegó Superior ridge, 2,350 m at L’Enforcadura and 2,400m at the Pollegó Inferior) and crossed by the Saldes river and the Gresolet mountain torrent, each of which forms a narrow valley. Almost all this mountainous municipality is covered by pine forests, with the occasional fir and European beech copse and areas of pasture. Traditional farming and animal husbandry was largely replaced by lignite mining, but this industry has since fallen into decline.
Saldes, Maçaners and L’Espà, at the foot of the majestic Pedraforca mountain, are the parishes that make up this municipality, with most of the population concentrated in Saldes and, to a lesser degree, in Maçaners.
The small village of Saldes clusters around the church of Sant Martí and Saldes castle. Saldes was documented as early as the 11th century in the consecration ceremony for Santa Maria de la Seu d’Urgell. Saldes lands were owned by the barons of Pinós in the12th century and later by the duke of Alba in the 16th century.