The route

The old rail track “Pyrenees-Costa Brava”, as its name suggests, stretches from the mountain to the sea. It is a route through impressive landscapes of great ecological and cultural value. It begins at the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone, and follows the path of the narrow-gauge old train. This route has been conceived for hikers and nature lovers, through wooded landscapes and mountains, before descending slowly towards the coast of the town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, origin of the place name “Costa Brava”.

Throughout the trail we will discover landscapes of unique beauty. The following describes briefly some of the most interesting places of the trail, so that you can get a clearer picture of what’s along the way.

Olot:

The route starts in the city of Olot. One of the main attractions of the area is the Fageda d’en Jordà, the best conserved beech forest in Catalunya.

The Pedra Tosca Park:

The way continues to Pedra Tosca Park, located at the boundary between the municipalities of Olot and Les Presses, and pertaining to the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park. This is a place of great ecological interest, consisting of 25 hectares of bed rock made by the layers of lava spewed by the Croscat Volcano 11.000 years ago.

Coll d’en Bas:

From here on we continue to climb to the Coll d’en Bas. It’s the longest ascension of the route, which starts near the outskirts of the town Sant Esteve d’en Bas. We will cross several small tunnels until we reach the Coll d’en Bas, the highest point of the whole challenge at 620 metres.

Vall d’en Bas:

Shortly after we start our way down we will reach the coolest and most humid part of the route, when we enter the oak wood of the valley’s southern slope.

Ter river:

We will go under the dam of Pasteral, the last dam of the river Ter, which from now on and until Gerona will accompany us during a significant part of the route.

The forest of la Devesa:

We will have the chance to see the wild waters of the Park la Pilastra, located at the edge of la Devesa forest, which we will not leave until reaching the city of Girona.

Girona:

While we cross the city we will go through one of the largest and best conserved old Jewish quarters of Europe.

Growing areas:

Once we pass through Quart, the landscape will change. We will leave the woods behind and reach fields of cereal crops, through which we will continue until the town of Llagostera.

The descent to the sea begins:

After Llagostera we will go through one of the few Eucalyptus forests in Catalunya. At this moment we will begin to intuit our destination. We will descend the steepest slopes of the whole route, reaching finally Santa Cristina d’Aro.

Catching sight of Costa Brava:

Once we leave behind Castell d’Aro, Platja d’Aro and S’Agaró we will reach our destination, arriving at the end of the narrow-gauge old trains’ route: Sant Feliu de Guíxols' port, the essence of Costa Brava.