Unió Europea
Fons social europeu L'FSE inverteix en el teu futur
ITINERÀNNIA, NETWORK OF TRAILS
ENG
16
“Itinerànnia” is a network of trails, with over 2,500 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. The network offers many different hikes depending on the time or difficulty and your interests 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 Emprdà counties.
RIPOLLÈS
THE SIGNS All the trails of the network are marked regularly over the paths with horizontal painted yellow signs.
PATH'S MARKS (3 x 10 cm)
TURN LEFT/RIGHT
WRONG PATH
The marks are placed approximately every 300 metres painted on tree's bark, stones or using and other medium already deployed in the area. In the cross roads you will find signposts indicating the nearest four villages in each direction with time information. (a maximum of 6 hours) If the same village or town appears more than once on different signs of the same signpost, you will need to read the description below the town. If there is no description below the place name then you are looking at the shortest route to the town or village. If the indication says “Per...” (I.e via) it means that this is a longer alternative route to get to the same place. Each signpost has a small plaque that shows the name of the place where it is located, the altitude and 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.elripolles.com In the Ripollès county you will find 18 touch screens located in different towns containing tourist information. Aquesta actuació està subvencionada pel Servei d’Ocupació de Catalunya en el marc del Projecte “Treball a les 4 Comarques” i cofinançada pel Fons Social Europeu.
A ROUTE THROUGH THE HIGHEST NEIGHBOURHOODS IN THE FRESER VALLEY Medium
4h. 35min.
16
A ROUTE THROUGH THE HIGHEST NEIGHBOURHOODS IN THE FRESER VALLEY
The route begins at the R123 sign Castell de Sant Pere located at the exit of Ribes de Freser next to the road to Pardines and the rack-rail. Follow the paved track passing underneath the ruins of Sant Pere castle, which was the residence of the lords of Ribes. Pass along the graveyard, the “Resguard dels vents” hotel and finally by the “Ventaiola” farmhouse from where you must follow a dirt track to your left. After a couple of big curves on the way up, the track will lead you to the Collada de Can Nadal pass, R118 sign. Follow the paved track to your left. The views over the valley are spectacular, a wide panoramic view of the scattered neighbourhoods with the Estremera mountain range and the Puigmal massif towering behind. In a sharp bend you must leave the paved road to take a dirt track that goes through a dense hazel and pine forest. You can start seeing your next goal on the other side of the valley: The neighbourhood of Serrat. Leave the track to go downhill through a scree following a little path which will lead you to cross the Maçanell river twice by wooden levers. Go up through the sunny side of the valley following a pathway that will lead you to Serrat. Enter to the small village passing by its church and cross it following its cobbled streets until you arrive at the R117 sign, right at the end of Serrat. Leave the village by the old path parallel to the current road. You will pass by the chapel of “Sant Antoni” and a little further ahead you must leave the wide path that would lead you to the road to take a narrower path which after a short but quick descent will take you to the road. Follow it for one hundred metres to leave it afterwards for an old path amid thickets. You will see the little village of Fustanyà very close now. Once you arrive there, follow a paved track going downhill to your left until you arrive at the R116 sign. Follow the track passing by the church of “Sant Sadurní de Fustanyà” with its distinctive wooden bell.
ITINERÀNNIA NETWORK ROUTE ROAD-TRAIL RIVER TOURIST SERVICES (see website) VERTICAL SIGNPOSTS OF THE NETWORK
Leave Casanova on your left to continue downhill through the track, you will pass under an aqueduct and arrive at the main road that connects Ribes de Freser and Queralbs. You must go left and follow the road towards Ribes for a few hundred metres. After crossing the rack-rail you will arrive at Rialb, the gathering place of all the iron and other minerals mined in the valley.
SPECIFIC INFORMATION
15.000
14.000
13.000
12.000
11.000
9.000
10.000
8.000
7.000
6.000
5.000
4.000
2.000
3.000
1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 0
1.000
altitude (m)
Time: 4h. 35min. Total distance: 15 km Highest altitude: 1.350m above sea level (Serrat) Lowest altitude: 908m above sea level (Ribes de Freser) Accumulative slope ascent: 590 m Accumulative slope descent: 605 m Difficulty: Medium (considering the distance although the route is easy to follow and enjoyable)
JUST TO PERSUADE YOU: This route will take you to some of the highest villages in the Freser Valley. Throughout the walk you will enjoy magnificent views over the mountains that surround the valley and its sparsely populated villages. Much of the trail follows old mining roads and paths passing by some of the remains of this important activity in the past.
Leave the main road to take the old trail that connected Rialb with Batet. The trail climbs up offering a beautiful panoramic view of the valley. Once in the small village of Batet, you must follow a trail downhill for a few hundred meters to afterwards take a track that will lead you to the “Can Possons” farmhouse. Before arriving there you will pass by an iron ore mine, one of the remnants of the intense mining activity that there was in the valley. Follow the paved track to “Can Possons” and “Can Segura” to finally arrive at the Collada de Can Segura pass, R120 sign. From here you just have to follow the path that rapidly descends to Ribes de Freser, going around a rocky mountain on top of which once stood the castle of Segura. After passing by the chapel of Sant Cristòfol, R122 sign, you will arrive at Ribes de Freser entering by the Cerdanya street.
Distance (m) Contents, illustrations and photographs are property of CEA Alt Ter (www.alt-ter.org)