Hiking in Catalonia from the Mediterranean sea to mountain tops

We were greeted in Barcelona train station with loud chants, shrill whistles and a sea of flags. Flags with red and yellow stripes and a white star on blue triangle. My husband and I had landed in Barcelona a mere hour earlier so we weren’t yet familiar with the flags, but it looked similar to the Catalan flag. 

Surely we hadn’t stumbled upon an independence rally? 

The autonomous community of Catalonia, with its own language and traditions, has pushed for independence in past, inspired in fact by the Québec sovereignty movement. But this movement was not still alive today, as far as I knew.

When we finally made our way through the crowds and found the line for our northbound train to Girona, I asked the woman behind us if she knew the purpose of the demonstration. She explained the flag, a variation of the Catalan flag with the addition of the white star on blue, indeed represented the Catalan independence movement. The demonstration, however, was not for sovereignty, but rather to demand better train connections to small villages in the region. 

I always learn something talking to people in line-ups in Spain. 

It wouldn’t be the only time we saw this flag in our short time in Catalonia but the noise level decreased considerably as we left Barcelona. We spent an enjoyable first night in the city of Girona, crossing the many bridges over the Onyar river and walking on the medieval walls that still demarcate the old city. We sipped our first vermut. Naturally. But the main reason we were in Catalonia was for a walking trip. A village to village walk organized by Catalan Adventures. 

The area we walked was quite close to the French border on the Mediterranean Sea – called the Costa Brava. We learned the Catalan language has similarities with French, so between Spanish and French we could pick up many words on menus. Vermut is vermut in both Spanish and Catalan so no need for translation there!

Our walking centred around the Bay of Roses. To give a sense of the size of this bay, it boasts over 45 km of beaches and 15 km of coves. From our first day to our last the large bay was never far way. We walked along its shores and enjoyed birds-eye views from nearby hilltops. 

Each day offered different hiking conditions from sandy beaches and flat wetlands to rugged coastlines and interior mountain paths. We walked by Greek and Roman ruins, a bird sanctuary, and our mountain climbs were rewarded not only with amazing views, but an abandoned defensive tower, a Benedictine monastery and castle ruins dating as far back as the 9th century. It was a fantastic mix of nature and historical sites that I have come to love about Spain….and now my husband does too. We were both eager each morning to get walking!

Day 1: L’Escala to Sant Pere Pescador – 14 km plus more to explore the extensive archeological remains at Empúries founded in 575 BC by Greek colonists and later occupied by the Romans. We mostly followed a coastal path including a long section on a sandy beach (not easy!).

Day 2: Sant Pere Pescador to Castello D’Empuries – 16 km, completely flat walk through Aiguamolls nature park spotting many birds, across fields dotted with poppies, and along the banks of River Fluviá into Castello D’Empuries.

Day 3: Stunning coastal trail to Cadaqués – a more challenging 15 km, thankfully our legs were warmed up after 2 relatively easy days of walking. The Cami de Ronda (GR92) trail followed rugged coastal cliffs with many descents and ascents to small coves, one of those coves housed the famed El Buli restaurant (voted best restaurant in the world 5 times). Trails lined with cactus and the bright blue sea always in view, stone staircases to shallow bays with floating purple jelly fish. Even after the many ups and downs to the sea, we added a strenuous detour to the highest point on the Cap Norfeu, a circular defensive tower Torre Norfeu built in 1604 (that’s me below pointing to the tower still in sight long after climbing down). Incredible sweeping views in all directions (cover photo).

Day 4: Day off to explore pretty Cadaqués.

Day 5: Cadaqués to El Port de la Selva – 14 km, a steady climb into the peaceful mountains, lavender and wild flowers, interesting stellar rock formations, rural trails, cows and countryside finishing with a steep rocky descent into El Port de la Selva.

Day 6: El Port de la Selva to Palau Salvadera – 15 km, a day of tough climbs to impressive mountain-top sites – Sant Pere de Rodes Benedictine monastery founded in 945, the ruins of the 9th century Castell Verdera and Sant Helena de Rodes church – the trifecta of Spanish sites! Ended the day with a final view of the Bay of Roses as we descended round the mountain.