Catalonia - La Garrotxa & Costa Brava

Today you arrive at your wonderful rural accommodation, Can Blanc, located in the Natural Park. It offers  its own garden area and private swimming pool. Just minutes away from one of the best restaurants in La Garrotxa region.

To get acquainted with your surroundings, you start with a visit to La Garrotxa Natural Park. At the visitors’ centre, in Fageda d’en Jorda, you will get all the information you need to get a wider vision of this Natural Park. From here, a protected beech wood, your circular walk begins to get an insight to this natural protected area. You’ll pass long-extinct volcanoes, such as the striking crater of El Croscat, one of the 40 volcanoes that have been catalogued in this Park.

Challenge: 16.5 km / 10,5 mi, 5.5 h, 475 m ascent and descent

The village of Santa Pau with its splendid location, perched on a rocky outcropping, is the starting point today. The oldest part of the village is a Medieval enclosure built around the 15th-century Gothic church of Santa Maria. There is also a castle, first mentioned in documents dating back to the 10th century. From Santa Pau you follow the GR-2 long–distance footpath through the Ser River valley, then cross several hills before finally descending to the beautifully preserved Medieval town of Besalú. You enter town via the famous 12th-century Romanesque bridge over the Fluvià River, which features a gateway at its midpoint.

Challenge: 19 km / 12 mi, 7 h, 560 m ascent, 900 m descent

Today you do a shorter, but quite varied, walk through colourful agricultural fields then along the beautifull river Fluvià, where there are numerous swimming spots and some restaurants where you can stop for lunch. In the afternoon, plenty of time to explore Besalú, declared a historic National Monument (“conjunt històric-artístic”). In addition to its typical arcaded streets and squares, the town features a church consecrated in 1003, a restored Jewish bathhouse (mikveh) dating back to the 11th - 12th century, as well as the remains of a medieval synagogue, located in the town’s lower quarter near the river.

Challenge: 11.5 km / 7 mi, 3.5 - 4 hrs, 175 m ascent and descent

After a short transfer, you start at Camallera, to follow a section of "The Historical way” (GR-1) that links Empúries with Finisterre. Traversing typical Catalonian landscapes with beautiful old farms, small agricultural plots and dairy farms the walk leads gradually to the coast. The fascinating history of this area will susprise you at the ancient Greek and Roman town of Empúries, a fascinating archaeological site. You finally reach the fishermen’s town of L'Escala on the shores of the Mediterranean sea.

Challenge: 20 km / 12,5 mi, 5 - 5.5 h, 275 m ascent, 365 m descent

If you want to hike on your last day, a taxi will take you to the coastal town of L'Estartit. Enjoy a fun and adventurous route; impressive cliffs and beautiful coves along the Mediterranean, that lead along a route to return to L'Escala. The walk is long, so we recommend to stop off for a nice Spanish lunch at Montgó beach (after 11.5 km) to recover some energy and then spend the afternoon on the beach treating yourself with the last swim in the Mediterranean sea. You end your hike going past the port, beach and town centre of L'Escala. 

Challenge: 15.5 km / 9,5 mi, 6 h, 620 m ascent, 680 m descent

Your walking arrangement comes to an end today after breakfast. Departure from L’Escala.