Autumn in La Garrotxa: Santa Margarida volcano, la Fageda d’en Jordà forest and the medieval town of Santa Pau

• Excursions

DATE: November 9 at 8am

Enjoy a beautiful hike through the most important volcanic area of the Iberian Peninsula: discover the impressive beech forest known as La Fageda d’en Jordà, walk to the Santa Margarida de Sacot hermitage, located inside a volcanic cone, and visit the village of Santa Pau, one of the most beautiful medieval villages in Catalonia.

– ROUTE THROUGH LA FAGEDA D’EN JORDÀ

This is a spectacular beech forest, one of those natural settings that take your breath away, inviting you to get lost, to be enveloped by its beauty. The mystique of La Fageda is nothing new. Its colors and beech trees have inspired painters and poets, including Joan Maragall, who dedicated one of his poems to it.

– SANTA MARGARIDA VOLCANO

Of all the volcanoes in La Garrotxa, the Santa Margarida volcano is one of the most well-known and visited. Located at the foot of the road linking Olot and Santa Pau, this volcano erupted about 11,500 years ago, pouring millions of tons of magma that accumulated into the hill, which today is covered with holm oaks and reaches a height of 682 meters.

Inside its crater, about two kilometers wide and covered with grass and shrubs, a Romanesque hermitage invites meditation. The small church, which gives the volcano its name, was destroyed during the Catalonia earthquake of 1428, while the current building dates back to 1865. Inside the temple, which has a single nave and stone walls, the image of Santa Margarida de la Cot is venerated, a replica of the original from the 6th century, which is housed in the Girona Diocesan Museum.

– SANTA PAU, ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN CATALONIA

The medieval village of Santa Pau is located southeast of the Olot plain and preserves a fascinating old town with well-defined medieval features. Highlights include the Plaza Mayor or Firal dels Bous, the Santa Maria Church, the Portal del Mar, among others.

THE PLAN:

– 8 am: We will meet at Plaza Universitat to take our private coach. We will stop for breakfast along the way.

– 10:30 am – 2:30 pm: Hike to enjoy:

1- Santa Margarida Volcano

2- La Fageda d’en Jordà, one of the most spectacular beech forests in Southern Europe.

– 2:30-3 pm: Coach ride to Santa Pau

– 3-5 pm: Group lunch at a traditional farmhouse (price: 21.5 euros)

– 5-6 pm: Guided walk through Santa Pau

– 6 pm: Return by coach, arriving in Barcelona around 8 pm

LANGUAGES: Spanish and Catalan (if you need some additional explanations in English there is no problem)

If the weather forecast is bad, the excursion will be postponed.

DATE: November 9, 2024

GUIDE: Toni Bellido

HIKE TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION:

• Level: easy to medium (good physical condition is required)
• Distance: 12 km
• Elevation gain: 256 meters
• Elevation loss: 256 meters