catalonia is hiking catalonia is hiking INDEX Presentation 4 Catalonia 6 Hiking in Catalonia 8 Types of trails 10 Suggested Routes 12 Carros de Foc 14 La Porta del Cel 20 Cavalls del Vent 26 Camí dels Bons Homes 32 De Sant Pau de Segúries a Lladó 38 Estels del Sud 44 Other recommended routes 50 Quick guide to the routes 52 Practical tips & advice 53 Directory 54 Route related services for walkers 55 Hiking and Rambling Information 55 Club Turisme Actiu de Turisme de Catalunya (The Active Tourism Club) 56 Tourism associations and bodies 58 Centres de Promoció Turística (CPT) de Catalunya (Catalan Tourism Offices) 58 PRESENTATION This booklet is a practical and easily readable guide. It is a tool we provide for visitors who are interested in seeing Catalonia, exploring its diverse landscape and enjoying the wide variety of natural produce and resources it has to offer. Hiking, or rambling, is a very popular activity with a long tradition in Access to both forms provides the visitor with a quality product tailored to Catalonia. It provides the visitor with an enjoyable way of discovering the hikers’ specific needs. history and customs of the land, as well as the nature of the culture and its heritage. In short, in this guide we provide a unique option of how to discover and enjoy the natural resources of Catalonia by way of hiking Here you will find an overall description of the terrain, the produce available, their characteristics and a summary of the suggested itineraries. Catalonia is a land of contrasts, and as such, it has become one of Europe’s most attractive and popular tourist destinations. Below, we offer This booklet has been designed to complement the online guides a taste of some of the natural areas that we recommend you visit. This available, which provide more detailed information and more precise is by no means an exhaustive inventory of what is on offer for hikers in descriptions of the routes we describe here. The web page Catalonia, but merely some specific proposals we have taken the liberty to www.turismedecatalunya.com/hiking, is easy to navigate and includes suggest to you. route maps, descriptions, and downloadable GPS tracks of each stage together with images of the areas you will pass through. The road is long and the views are spectacular. Enjoy the trip! Presentation | p. 05 CATALONIA Val d’Aran FRANCE ANDORRA Pirineus Costa Brava Terres de Lleida ARAGÓN Catalunya central Girona Lleida Costa de Barcelona e Maresme Barcelona Costa Daurada Barcelona Costa del Garraf Tarragona Terres de l’Ebre THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA Barcelona PAÍS VALENCIÀ Catalonia | p. 06 Catalonia is a land of extraordinary diversity, evident not only in its history, culture and rich heritage, but also in the variety of spectacular landscapes. The 10 tourism trademarks are the best way of identifying the characteristics and specialities of each area. Barcelona Terres de l’Ebre Baix Ebre, Montsià, Ribera d’Ebre, Terra Alta. Costa Brava Catalunya central Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà, Gironès, La Selva, Pla de l’Estany. Anoia, Bages, Osona, Vallès Occidental, Vallès Oriental. Costa Daurada Terres de Lleida Alt Camp, Baix Camp, Baix Penedès, Conca de Barberà, Priorat, Tarragonès. Garrigues, Noguera, Pla d’Urgell, Segarra, Segrià, Urgell. Costa de Barcelona Maresme Pirineus Maresme. Alta Ribagorça, Alt Urgell, Berguedà, Cerdanya, Costa del Garraf Garrotxa, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Ripollès, Solsonès. Alt Penedès, Baix Llobregat, Garraf. Val d’Aran Catalonia | p. 07 HIKING IN CATALONIA Hiking, traditionally practised in Catalonia as trekking, is a physical activity that provides walkers with the opportunity to interact directly with nature, and one, which is becoming more and more popular in Catalonia. Practising hiking in Catalonia is the ideal way to combine physical exercise with discovering and exploring this land. Travelling the sign-posted trails on foot, you can appreciate and admire the beauty of the landscape unfolding before you. The wide variety of trails, long distance (GR), gran recorregut, short distance (PR), petit recorregut and local (SL), senders locals, makes it possible for anyone to practise hiking, thus making this the ideal sport to share with your family or friends. The array of geographic formations in Catalonia is rich and diverse, Currently, the Catalonia network is one of the most important in resulting in scenes of breathtaking beauty. The benign climate, the Spain, thanks to the generous work of multiple hiking and rambling array of landscapes, the basically mountainous character of Catalonia, associations. There are more than 5,000 kilometres of signposted together with the remarkable natural, architectural and cultural splendour long distance trails connecting the Pyrenees with the peninsular inland of the area places the Catalan hiking trails among the most interesting in and France, not to mention the extensive network of local trails and Europe. short distance trails which all together, makes Catalonia a privileged destination for hikers and hill walkers. From the Pyrenees to the The trail markings have been there since ancestral times. Over the Mediterranean, the wealth of natural resources and heritage of this land years, these trail markings have been revised and improved several is within easy reach of all those who enjoy active tourism in the heart of times, and these improvements have made the trails accessible to more nature. people and therefore increased the popularity of hiking. The Centre Excursionista de Catalunya-Club Alpí Català was founded in 1876 and is one of the oldest in Europe. The club has sown the seed from which a huge number of centres have sprouted and in its impressive one hundred and thirty years in operation, it has catered for hundreds of thousands of hikers. 1975 saw the beginning of the marking of the first officially approved hiking trail in Catalonia, the GR-7, which covers the journey from Andorra to Fredes in Valencia over 399 Kilometres. Hiking in Catalonia | p. 09 Types of trails Catalonia joins up with the European and Peninsular networks thanks to The colour of the signpost, or marking, indicate which type of trail you almost 9,000 kilometres of signposted trails, many of which are ancient are on (GR, PR or SL). trails that have been reclaimed. Currently there are three different types of trails: GR PR SL · The long distance hiking trails, or GR, are a network of trails, paths and tracks, which cross Europe in every direction joining countries and Direction towns and are suited for pedestrian tourism. The European Ramblers to follow Association (ERA) is the organisation responsible for coordinating the entire network. Wrong way · The short distance trails or (PR) are more local or regional itineraries and cannot exceed 50 kilometres in length. · The local trails or (SL), as the name suggests, are short local trails no longer than 10 Kilometres. A turn to the left or right The itinerary of officially approved trails is signposted and marked throughout. These markings may appear in the form of directional signs, posts, or markings painted on trees, rocks, or other natural elements. There are three types of markings: those indicating the continuity of For further details please contact the website of the Federació the trails, a sudden change in direction, or those indicating d’Entitats Excusionistes de Catalunya, (Catalan Federation of Rambling discontinuity. Associations) www.feec.cat. Hiking in Catalonia | p. 10 GR network in Catalonia GR1 Sender transversal Montsegur FRANCE Bossòst GR2 La Jonquera-Aiguafreda GR211 Salardú GR3 Vielha Sender central de Catalunya GR107 GR11 GR4 Ospitau Andorra Prada Puigcerdà-Montserrat de Vielha ANDORRA Boí Espot la Vella GR5 Sender dels Miradors GR83 Puigcerdà Ulldeter GR11 El Pont La Seu Bellver de Portbou GR6 Barcelona-Montserrat Núria de Suert d’Urgell Cerdanya La Jonquera GR150 GR7 Andorra-Fredes Solans Castellar GR2 Cap de La Pobla GR7 de n’Hug GR1 Creus GR11 Sender del Pirineu Bagà St. Pau de Pont de de Segur Gósol GR241 Segúries Besalú Montanyana Tremp Berga Ripoll GR65-5 Camí de St. Jaume Oliana Santuari Vidrà Sta. Pau Banyoles Empúries de Queralt Borredà GR1 St Quirze GR210 GR83 Camí de l’exili de Besora Rupit Solsona GR176 GR4 GR3 Girona GR92 Sender del Mediterrani ARAGÓ Ponts Anglès La Bisbal GR3 Cardona L’Estany GR2 GR178 GR92 d’Empordà GR96 Camí Romeu a Montserrat Pinós GR179 GR83 Sta. Coloma Balaguer de Farners Agramunt Navarcles GR5 GR97 De la Tordera al Llobregat GR171 St Feliu Aiguafreda Manresa GR177 St Celoni de Guíxols Lleida GR107 Camí dels Bons Homes Tàrrega Cervera GR97 Montserrat GR173 Hortsavinyoà Vallbona de Terrassa GR150 Entorn a la serra del Cadí Canet les Monges Les Borges Bellprat Sabadell GR6 Mataró GR171 Santuari de Pinós-Refugi Caro Blanques La Beguda GR175 GR172 Alta GR172 Bellprat-Mussara Mequinensa GR5 Barcelona GR65-5 Poblet GR96 Montblanc Santes Creus GR173 Vallès natural Albarca Prades Begues Cabaces La Mussara Coll de la Sitges GR174 Sender del Priorat Vilanova i GR174 Teixeta GR171 Reus la Geltrú GR175 Ruta del Cister Gandesa Tarragona Rasquera GR192 Cambrils GR176 Ruta del Romànic Paüls l’Hospitalet de l’Infant GR177 Ruta del Moianès THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA GR92 GR178 Ruta d’en Serrallonga Ampolla GR179 Camí dels Maquis Amposta Fredes GR192 Cambrils-Amposta Ulldecona GR210 Camí vora Ter PAÍS GR211 Circular de la Val d’Aran VALENCIÀ GR241 Circular de Borredà FEEC Hiking in Catalonia | p. 11 SUGGESTED ROUTES Below is a selection of six different hiking routes catering to all tastes and which will allow you to discover the diversity of breathtaking landscapes in Catalonia. The network of long and short distance trails (GR and PR) has served as the basis of hiking and rambling in Catalonia. Although not all the sections of trails included in the guide fall within these categories, all the routes included here are equipped with similar markings and suitable services.