VERD VOLCÀNIC

Walking routes in

La Garrotxa &

L’Empordà

2012

2

HIKING THE COSTA BRAVA

On the trail of Salvador Dalí

Duration: 7 days / 6 nights

Walking length: 6 hours per day Difficulty: medium

Route type: guided or self-guided

Best period: the whole year Topic: wildlife & culture

This tour circumnavigates the peninsula of Cap de Creus, the final flourish of the Pyrenees. We will

stroll along the cliffs modelled by the strong north wind – the ‘Tramuntana’ - and drop down into

sheltered small coves. In this area the fishing villages have been able to integrate with tourist de-

velopment without losing their essential charm. One of the highest points of the tour will be the

climb up to the Romanesque Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, considered the most important

building of the medieval period in Catalonia. We continue on to the village of Port Lligat and Salva-

dor Dalí’s house, the place in which he normally lived and worked up till 1982 when, upon Gala’s

death, he took up residence at Púbol Castle. Next stop will be Cadaqués, the most popular bohe-

mian village in the Costa Brava and the biggest natural port in Catalonia. We will go to the town of

Figueres, capital of the area, and The Dalí Theatre- Museum, the largest surrealistic object in the

world. We will also visit The Gala Dalí Castle in Púbol, which allows visitors to discover a medieval

building in which Salvador Dalí lent material form to an exuberant creative effort with his mind set

on one person, Gala. On the last day, we will visit the attractive town of Castelló d’Empúries with its

huge Gothic church and the Aiguamolls de L'Empordà natural park. We sleep in well-situated hotels

on the Costa Brava, where we will be able to rest and enjoy the beaches.

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Day 1

Transfer Girona Airport – Port de la Selva (1hr.)

Accommodation: 3* Hotel in Port de la Selva Day 2

Route: Port de la Selva – Sant Pere de Rodes – Port de la Selva

Distance: 12km. Duration: 6hrs. Climb. 550m. Difficulty: Medium-hard. Accommodation: 3* Hotel in Port de la Selva

Day 3

Route: Port de la Selva – Port Lligat – Cadaqués Distance: 15km. Duration: 6hrs. Climb.

300m. Difficulty: Medium. Optional entrance House – Museum Salva-

dor Dalí in Portlligat Accommodation: 3* Hotel in Cadaqués

Day 4 Route: Cadaqués – Roses

Distance: 17km. Duration: 6hrs. Climb.

250m. Difficulty: Medium.

Accommodation: 3* Hotel in Roses

Day 5 Route: Roses – Castelló d’Empúries Distance: 12km. Duration: 4hrs. Climb.

50m. Difficulty: Easy. Hiking around Aiguamolls de l’Empordà.

Distance & duration depend on the group. Transfer to Figueres (30min.) Accommodation: 3* Hotel in Figueres

Day 6

Entrance Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres Transfer Figueres - Púbol (30 min.) Entrance House - Museum Gala Dalí Cas-

tle in Púbol Transfer Púbol – Girona (30 min.)

Accommodation: 3* Hotel in Girona Day 7

Transfer Girona city - Girona Airport (20min.)

ITINERARY

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THE REAL COSTA BRAVA ON FOOT The Costa Brava for walkers

Duration: 7 days / 6 nights Walking length: 6-8 hours per day

Difficulty: hard Route type: guided or self-guided

Best period: the whole year

Topic: rugged coast of the Costa Brava

The Costa Brava has many different faces, of which the best known are the packed sandy beaches

in the south and the exclusive picture-book coves further north. However, much of the northern

Costa Brava remains relatively intact, since its rugged coastal scenery offers little of interest for the

beach lovers and makes access difficult for the day-trippers from Barcelona.

On this tour we will visit the towns of Portbou, Llançà and Port de la Selva, all rather cut off from

the rest of Catalonia, and explore their rocky hinterland and their relationship with the sea. On the

way we’ll climb up to the commanding fortress of Querroig and gaze down over the French vine-

yards to the north, and make a similar ascent to Sant Pere de Rodes, the imposing medieval monas-

tery that dominates the whole of the rugged headland of Cap de Creus.

On another day we will walk to stark headland of Cap de Creus, the most easterly point of the Ibe-

rian Peninsula, before reaching the famous artists’ town of Cadaqués.

We wil have time to stop for views, to look at wildlife and for refreshing drinks when we reach our

evening’s destination.

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Day 1

Transfer Girona Airport – Roses (40min.) Accommodation: 3* Hotel in Roses

Day 2 Route: Roses - Cap Norfeu - Cadaqués

Distance: 21km. Climb: 500m. Duration: 7hrs. Difficulty: Hard

Accommodation: 2* Hotel in Cadaqués Day 3

Route: Cadaqués - Cap de Creus - Port de la Selva

Distance: 18km. Climb: 650m. Duration: 8hrs. Difficulty: Hard Accommodation: 3* Hotel in Port de la Selva

Day 4

Route: Port de la Selva - Sant Pere de Rodes - Llançà

Distance: 15km. Climb: 550m. Duration:

6hrs. Difficulty: Medium-hard

Accommodation: 2* Hotel in Llançà

Day 5 Route: Llançà - Colera - Portbou along the

coast Distance: 15km. Climb: 300m. Duration:

5hrs 30 min. Difficulty: Medium Accommodation: 2* Hotel in Portbou

Day 6

Route: Portbou - Castell de Querroig - Portbou Distance: 18km. Climb: 630m. Duration:

6hrs. Difficulty: Hard Accommodation: 2* Hotel in Portbou

Day 7

Transfer Portbou – Girona Airport (50min.)

ITINERARY

6

THE VOLCANIC LAND The 40 volcanoes of La Garrotxa

Duration: 6 days / 5 nights or 5 days / 4 nights

Walking length: between 4hrs. & 6hrs. 30min. per day Difficulty: medium-hard or easy Route type: guided or self-guided

Best period: from March to November Topic: natural world, history & architecture

This is a quite tough route which will take us into the region known as La Garrotxa,

a very special natural park that protects an area of volcanoes located in between the high Pyrenees and the coastal plains. Along a network of paths, we will see a

variety of volcanoes and landscapes in a rich natural context. We will be accompa-nied by accredited guides from the natural park. The region is culturally and archi-

tecturally very rich and, for example, in Olot, the region's capital, we will discover buildings belonging to Modernism styles. We will also visit the enchanting little vil-

lage of Santa Pau with its castle and old walls, where time seems to have stopped. Elsewhere in the region, a well-preserved Roman road can be walked and there are

numerous Romanesque churches linked by a great diversity of routes passing through many picturesque areas. From the Xenacs viewpoint we will have a won-

derful panoramic vision of the whole natural park. In Olot we will also visit the Mu-seum of the Volcanoes, and learn about the history of the region's volcanic activity.

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Option A: easy Day 1 - Transfer Girona Airport – Olot (1hr.)

Accommodation: 3*Hotel in Olot Day 2 - Route: Olot – la Canya – Olot

Duration: 5hrs. Distance: 16,5Km. Climb: 250m

Accommodation: 3*Hotel in Olot Day 3 - Route: Olot – Batet – Moixina –

Olot Duration: 6hrs. Distance: 18Km. Climb:

250m Accommodation: 3*Hotel in Olot

Day 4 - Transfer Olot – Sant Feliu de Pallerols – Olot

Route: Around Sant Feliu de Pallerols Duration: 6hrs. 30min. Distance: 12Km.

Climb: 400 m Accommodation: 3*Hotel in Olot

Day 5 - Route: Olot – Montsacopa – Olot Duration: 4hrs. 30min. Distance: 12Km.

Climb: 200 m Transfer Olot – Girona Airport (1hr.)

Option B: hard Day 1 - Transfer Girona Airport – Olot (1hr.)

Accommodation: 3*Hotel in Olot Day 2 - Route: Olot - Xenacs - Santa Pau

Duration: 6 hrs. 30 min. Distance: 15km. Climb: 700 m

Transfer to Olot Accommodation: Family hotel in Santa Pau

Day 3 - Route: Santa Pau - St. Feliu de Pallerols

Duration: 6 hrs. Distance: 13,8km. Climb: 600 m Accommodation: Family-run Hotel in St. Fe-

liu de Pallerols

Day 4 - Route: St. Feliu de Pallerols - Joanetes

Duration: 5 hrs. 30 min. Distance: 16km Climb: 600 m Accommodation: Family-run hotel in

Joanetes

Day 5 - Route: Joanetes - St. Privat d'en Bas Duration: 6 hrs. 30 min. Distance: 12km.

Climb: 800 m Accommodation: Family-run hotel in St. Pri-

vat d’en Bas Day 6 - Route: Sant Privat d'en Bas -

Olot Duration: 4hrs. Distance: 12km. Climb: 200

m Transfer Olot – Girona Airport (1hr.)

ITINERARY

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MEDIAEVAL TREASURES OF

LA GARROTXA Romanesque, medieval towns and medieval castles

Duration: 6 days / 5 nights Walking length: between 3 and 6 hours per day

Difficulty: medium-hard Route type: guided or self guided

Best period: the whole year

The medieval period meant the birth of a country, Catalonia. The region of ‘La Garrotxa’

was very important and significant for this process and this is what the conserved rich historical heritage will show us. We will visit the area that once belonged to the County of

Besalú. First of all, we will see in the narrow medieval streets of which the village of Be-salú is made up, diverse examples of the co-existence between the Jewish community that settled in the area at the beginning of the Middle Ages and the citizens who were

Catholics. In the very heart of the Natural Park we will visit the old town of Santa Pau, an interesting historic site with pronouncedly medieval characteristics. The old part of the

town is marked out by the old city wall and was built around the castle and the main square, which date back to the 13th-14th centuries. From there we will walk to the Hos-toles Valley. The village of Hostalets is catalogued as a historical-artistic monument. The

castles at Hostoles and Puig-alder are two of the most important vestiges of the war of the Remences. The last day we will visit Girona, the city of the stone and the second

most important city in Catalonia during the 14th and 15th centuries. The old Roman walled enclosure became too small, so the city spread along both sides of the river On-yar, with considerable urban and demographic growth. Yet before this, it came under

Moslem domination and was later handed over to Charlemagne. It became the county capital and witnessed the birth of a new political and social order, feudalism, and experi-

enced an important period of growth.

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ITINERARY

Day 1 Transfer Girona Airport – Besalú

Accommodation: 4* Hotel in Besalú

Day 2

Tour: Besalú – Sanctuary Mare de Déu del Mont – Besalú

Duration: 6 h 30 min. Climb: 1000 m Distance: 14 km

Accommodation: 4* Hotel in Besalú

Day 3 Tour: Besalú – Santa Pau

Duration: 6 h 30 min. Climb: 300 m Dis-tance: 18 km

Accommodation: Great Rural Hotel in Santa Pau

Day 4 Tour: Santa Pau - Sant Feliu de Palle-

rols Duration: 6 h. Climb: 350 m Distance:

13 km

Accommodation: Great Rural Hotel in Sant Feliu de Pallerols

Day 5

Tour: Sant Feliu de Pallerols – la Vall d’en Bas

Duration: 5 h. Climb: 300 m Distance: 12 km

Accommodation: 4* Hotel in Joanetes

Day 6 Transfer to Girona and visit to the old

quarter Transfer to the Girona Airport

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HIKING TOUR AROUND OIX On foot along medieval trails

Duration: 7 days / 6 nights

Walking length: between 3 and 6 hours per day Difficulty: easy & medium Route type: guided in shape of a star from Oix or self guided

Best period: from March-June & September-November Topic: natural history

Oix and Beget lie in the heart of an area known as L'Alta Garrotxa, a chain of

limestone mountains characterised by sheer cliffs, deep gorges and remote me-dieval churches. In recent years there has been a trend for local inhabitants to

abandon their farms, which has created a peaceful landscape - dotted with the re-minders of a recent history – now dominated by thick oak forests. It is a heaven

for wildlife, with excellent populations of large birds of prey, butterflies and or-chids. From the relaxed village of Oix, isolated from the hustle and bustle of the

modern world, we will explore the surrounding mountains with their Romanesque churches, mediaeval castles and breathtaking views. We will also visit the Salt

dels Liberals, scene of one of the bloodiest moments of the cruel Carline wars, the peak of Bestracà, with magnificent views over the Pyrenees, and other emblem-

atic places in the area.

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ITINERARY

Day 1

Transfer Girona Airport – Castellfollit de la Roca (45min.)

Accommodation: Family-run hotel in Castell-follit de la Roca Day 2

Route: Castellfollit de la Roca – Oix Distance: 12km. Duration: 3 hrs. Climb.

300m Accommodation: Family-run hotel in Oix Day 3

Route: Oix – Santa Bàrbara de Pruneres – Oix

Distance: 10Km. Duration: 5 hrs. Climb. 400m Accommodation: Family-run hotel in Oix

Day 4 Route: Oix – Beget – Oix

Distance: 15km. Duration: 5 hrs. Climb. 500m

Accommodation: Family-run hotel in Oix

Day 5

Route: Oix – Castell de Bestracà – Oix Distance: 10km. Duration: 6 hrs. Climb.

650m Accommodation: Family-run hotel in Oix Day 6

Route: Oix – Montmajor – Oix Distance: 13km. Duration: 6 hrs. Climb.

700m Accommodation: Family-run hotel in Oix Day 7

Transfer Oix - Girona Airport (1hr.)

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VERD VOLCÀNIC

c/Antoni Llópis, 6 1r 5a

17800

OLOT

CATALONIA

SPAIN

Tel. (+34) 972.90.38.22 (+34) 657.861.805 E-mail: info@verdvolcanic.cat