EN
ITINERÀNNIA, NETWORK OF TRAILS “Itinerànnia” is a network of trails, with over 2500 kilometres between the neighbouring regions of “Ripollès”, “Garrotxa” and “Alt Empordà”. A network of hiking trails is like a road map, but with footpaths, allowing the hiker to get from any one point to another. It retrieves the old historic roads between the villages to reach many small places.
03 OLOT
Garrotxa
The network offers many different hikes depending on the time or difficulty and you interest over nature, architecture or culture. Each route that we propose is just a little taste of an extensive network of trails that you can walk to discover the Ripollès, Garrotxa and Alt Empordà counties.
THE SIGNS all the trails of the network are marked regularly over the paths with horizontal painted yellow signs.
PATH’S MARKS (3X10cm)
TURN LEFT / RIGHT
WRONG PATH
The marks are placed approximately every 300 metres painted on tree trunks, stones or using and other mediums already deployed in the area. The vertical signs is located at crossroads. The basic network signalling (banners with red tip) indicate the 4 nearest population in each direction and time needed. The banners of the itineraries of the municipalities, as the one you have in your hands, have a green tip shows the name and direction of the route. Each signpost has a small plaque hat shows the name of the place where it is located, the altitude, the UTM coordinates.
You will find information boards with a map of the county’s trails in every village or city integrating the network.
+INFO: www.itinerannia.net www.turismegarrotxa.com
MONTSACOPA AND MONTOLIVET VOLCANOES Moderate
2h 30min
03
RUTA VOLCÀ DEL MONTSACOPA I DE MONTOLIVET
This route begins in Plaça de Josep Clarà at junction G15 and then heads along Carrer de Mulleres as far as Carrer de l’Hospici, where you should turn left. At junction G160 antic jutjat, head up to Plaça Móra. Then, follow Carrer del Pati past the public library and up to the city’s main square, Plaça Major. Continue along Carrer Major on to Plaça del Conill. Here, signpost O6 points you left past Casa Pujador, a Modernist building, and up Carrer de la Verge del Portal. At the top of this street you will pass by a small chapel, Capella del Portal. Immediately afterwards, turn right and come to a flight of steps that will take you up Carrer Sant Francesc de Paula. Climb these steps to reach a small square, Plaça de les Rodes, which you should cross to then head up right on Camí de Montsacopa. Soon you will reach junction O7 Viacrucis, whose signpost points you up to the crater. The climb up Montsacopa is known locally as the via crucis due to the shrines with representations of biblical scenes that line the way. It is paved and there are benches on which to sit to enjoy the shade.
ITINERÀNNIA NETWORK ROUTE ROAD-TRAIL RIVER TOURIST SERVICES (See website) VERTICAL SIGNPOSTS OF THE NETWORK
Once on top of the volcano of Montsacopa, you can walk down into the crater or climb up either one of the two watchtowers dating from the Carline wars of the nineteenth century, which offer wonderful views northwards to the mountains of the Pyrenees and L’Alta Garrotxa. On the far side of the crater, you can visit el fortí and the church of Sant Francesc.
Editorial Alpina
If you complete the circuit, you should return back down along the via crucis to junction O7, where you should turn right and pass through one of the quarries that once extracted volcanic stone from Montsacopa. Pass behind the cemetery and then turn left at junction O8 Cementiri. Drop down into the city and towards the volcano of Montolivet along a series of streets – Pintor Domenge, Francesc Montsalvatge, Casimir Plana, Bernat Vilar, Plaça Balmes, Bernat Vilar (again) and Pare Roca – until you reach a school, Maria Reina, at junction G163. Here, you are pointed up along Avinguda Dr. Joaquim Danés to Plaça de Montolivet and the steps up to Sant Pere Màrtir. In front of you rises a whole district of low white houses, presided over by the modern church of
ROUTE SPECIFIC INFORMATION
Sant Pere Màrtir with the saint’s head carved into its façade. Climb the stairs that lead up towards the church. Once at the church, keep left again to reach another flight of steps that will take you to a square, Plaça de Sant Pere Màrtir, another excellent vantage point over the city of Olot.
Time: 2h 30min Distance: 8,25kms Max. height: 531m Min. height: 436m Difficulty: Moderate ACCUMULATIVE SLOPE
Total climb: 328m Total descent: 328m
Altitude (m)
531
483
436 0
2
4 Distance (km)
6
8
This route visits two of Olot’s most remarkable volcanoes, Montsacopa and Montolivet. Located in the heart of Olot, Montsacopa is of great interest due to the inactive quarries on its flanks that today act as an open-air museum where you can touch with your own hands different types of volcanic material. Once on top of the volcano, you can visit the circular crater and enjoy wonderful views over the city of Olot, much of the county of La Garrotxa and the peak of El Canigó in the Pyrenees. Montolivet, a twin to Montsacopa since both volcanoes were built by magma emerging from the same fault. On the summit of Montolivet there is an optical telegraph tower dating from the eighteenth century that is well worth visiting. The walk along the Muntanya Pelada offers further wonderful views of the city of Olot and the town of Les Preses.
Once you have finished enjoying the view, continue under the arches that surround the square, cross Carrer Geranis and climb another set of steps, this time alongside the Sant Pere Màrtir infant school. You will come out on to Passatge Begònies, where you should keep straight on and then left up some steps and into a cul-de-sac. At the end of this road you will come to an Itinerànnia information board just as the paved road ends. A few metres after starting along a path, you will come to a signpost pointing you up left to Montolivet. Climb the wooden steps up towards the summit of this volcano and the strategically placed signalling tower, an essential part of the network used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to keep Olot in contact with the rest of the world. Once at the tower, head back down the same path and steps and back to the junction. Here, turn left and head towards the Muntanya Pelada, an open ridge running along the right-hand side of the lip of the crater of Montolivet. Once at the Muntanya Pelada itself, you come to junction O10, where you should turn left and drop down towards the river and the area known as Els Tossols. Here, turn right and pick up the track along the river, and then cross over a concrete bridge to a spring, Font de la Gruta. From here, continue left along the footpath that follows the right bank of the river back towards Olot and Les Fonts de Sant Roc.