If it weren't for the volcanoes, there wouldn't be La Garrotxa, this magical place where history and nature meet. A place to discover and to rest in: ”History, nature & rest” are the words I find in a brochure – words that perfectly summarise what awaits here.
La Garrotxa is the destination we are now going to discover, an area located in Catalonia between the Pyrenees and the coast of the Costa Brava. You travel here either by train to Girona or by plane to Barcelona – we have chosen the latter option this time. Getting to La Garrotxa's main town, Olot, takes about an hour by car. Finally, we leave the motorway, the sun is setting and we check into The little hotel La Perla. After dinner, we go to bed early, ready to explore the region the next morning.
Cycle along the railway
Our first item on the agenda is a cycling trip. It turns out the region is popular with cyclists, and that many professional cyclists also train here. We're heading out for Vía Verde, the green way –Vía Verdes are former railway lines where trains once chugged along, but which have today been converted into popular cycle and walking paths. You need to cycle a total of 57 kilometres to get to Girona, which many do as a day trip. Others make the entire journey, almost 100 kilometres, to the Costa Brava.
We don't really have the time this time, so we'll head to a nearby small village for a cup of coffee, a cortado – a small espresso with a splash of milk, Spanish style. Our guide stops a couple of Norwegians who are about to take a wrong turn. He puts them right and we take another route up to yet another village, all to see the variety in the landscape. He tells us about the diversity of species and about the blue butterfly that is found here.
Nature really takes centre stage here. Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park is the classification that has been in effect since 1982. As the name reveals, it is volcanoes that have shaped the vegetation here. There are around 40 volcanoes in the area. However, there is nothing to worry about – the volcanoes are dormant. The last eruption was between 11,000 and 15,000 years ago. However, there is seismic activity in the area and the last earthquake took place in 1428 and was felt as far away as Barcelona, 90 kilometres from here. We have a visit booked at the volcano museum in Olot, Espai Cràter.
Volcanoes – Food & Museum
The museum building is discreet and blends into its surroundings, designed by architectural firms BCQ Arquitectura Barcelona and VOL Studio, and inaugurated in 2022. The museum's placement inside the dormant Puig del Roser volcano contributes to making it unique. Here, a centre for volcanology, science and society is created. The engagement is palpable, but opinions among the locals are divided. I myself note that I have much to learn – and here I gain new knowledge.
– Look here, says Beth Cobo, our guide for the day, as we emerge. Here lies the volcano and a hike up it is an even more natural way to learn about its powers. But international cooperation is simultaneously central and important – and then the museum becomes a meeting place.
A lunch where even the volcanoes join in the flavours awaits you at the restaurant La Quinta Justa, which is also part of Cuina Volcànica. The cornerstone of the food is vegetables and fruit grown in the nutrient-rich volcanic soil, soil that helps to intensify the flavours. The lunch is long, just like all the meals here – you need to stop stressing to have time to enjoy.
Sustainability in focus
The restaurant is a family affair, and I can still taste the tomato sauce that was served with my white fish. For dessert, it will be La Fageda yoghurt with berries. The yoghurt is well-known, produced from milk from their own farms in the natural park. The company is a work cooperative where people with disabilities work – a good and important initiative in a region where sustainability efforts are central.
Sustainability permeates the region and has become an obvious part of much of what we see. Beth takes us to the food market and shows how the energy supply works. There are many pedestrian streets, and the city offers an exciting history. Olot was founded in 872, but the volcanic eruption in 1428 means that the oldest buildings are not quite that old. Industrialism has also left its mark here. Of the city's just over 30,000 inhabitants, Beth seems to know many.
The familial and the sustainable come together within Soy Ecoturista, Ecoturism Club, that both promotes and ensures that sustainability criteria are met, in a way that protects the environment and promotes local development.
Living on the farm
We are checking in at Hotel Mas la Ferreria In Vall de Bianya, one of Soy Ecoturistas' hotels. A magical boutique hotel with eleven rooms, out in the countryside, housed in a *masía*, a Catalan farmhouse, from the 14th century. The forest is close, the volcanic hills are our backdrop, a drizzle greets us. I would have gladly stayed here now, wrapped myself in a blanket and marvelled amongst stone walls and rustic furniture. But time is short: a change of clothes, and then we set off to Hostal del Sol for dinner.
The restaurant is located right next to the road, and has been since 1315, then in the form of a masía. Nowadays, you can both stay and eat here. Plates of tomatoes, apples, cold cuts, sausages, burrata and local wine are served. Simple, genuine and tasty. We have a fantastic evening, talking about then and now, about the food, about the people and the volcanoes. The atmosphere is great.
The next morning, we wake up to The birds are chirping. A delicious breakfast is laid out in the conservatory restaurant; it's a bit too cold to sit outside. Checking out feels abrupt, but we've certainly acquired a taste for this place. Our agenda for the day is tempting: we're going to hike among the volcanoes. An alternative way to see the landscape is to fly by hot air balloon over the area. That will have to be another time too, but the pictures I'm seeing are alluring.
Volcano hike
With our hiking boots laced up, we step onto the path to the quarry of the Croscat volcano., The volcano is 189 metres high, the highest in the area. At the entrance, we find a current list of which birds, insects, and reptiles have been seen here recently. Strombolian volcano med en hästskoformad kon. Fram till 1990-talet var här ett grusbrott, men i dag är området naturskyddat och ett populärt besöksmål. Vi besöker även vulkanen Santa Margarida, känd för kyrkan i dess krater. Det är lätt att fascineras av naturens skapelser. Picknick i naturen är ett bra val just i dag.
The day will then conclude with A walk in Fageda d’en Jordà, a unique high-altitude beech forest raised on a lava flow. This is a place many Spaniards make pilgrimages to, both because it is beautiful and because of the famous poem ”Fageda d’en Jordà” by the Catalan poet Joan Maragall. A place he describes as greener than green, a place where you walk slower and where silence reigns. Our nature guide George reads the poem, a branch rustles, visitors of all ages move along the path. We take the bus back to Olot. A festival is taking place here, and one of the activities is the creation of human towers. It involves groups simply climbing on top of each other, floor by floor. One group reaches five floors high, a young girl climbs to the top. A magnificent interplay.
We're checking in at Mas Garganta, also a *masía*, this one with ten rooms. Here too, the view of the volcanoes is magnificent, and a rustic, open fireplace serves as a gathering point. It's clear that families are welcome; there are horses, chickens, a bossy rooster, and a host of other animals here. The playground, swimming pool, and forest are designed for joint exploration. This evening, we're staying in and eating ”at home”. A sunrise and breakfast on the veranda, and we're ready for new discoveries.
A spectacular village
The area is rich in history, in villages and bridges that arose sometimes alongside the lava, in its flows and along the trade routes that the Romans laid. Castellfollit de la Roca is one of the most spectacular – and slightly mad. The bridge has taken position 50 metres up a narrow basalt cliff surrounded by the Fluvià and Toronell rivers. Here it stretches for almost a full kilometre. We walk across the bridge and make our way up, further to the Sant-Salvador church, at the very edge by the Josep Pla viewpoint. Today the building is used as a cultural centre. We go back down, across the river and out into the countryside.
Our nature guide George is now showing us how the lava flowed, how its different layers can be seen. He explains how it solidified. We walk along a path where the lava stream flowed; it looks like paving stones. I keep thinking about Castellfollit de la Roca, how the village clings to the basalt cliffs, how the almost 1,000 people who live here live today, and how those before them lived.
History, nature, and rest – these are the words that now summarise my experience of La Garrotxa. A place worth discovering again, and again.
Ecotourism in Spain
La Garrotxa is a certified destination within Soy Ecoturista, Spain's ecotourism club supported by the Ministry of Tourism. The initiative guarantees authentic and sustainable ecotourism experiences that contribute to local development and the protection of biodiversity in protected areas. Members meet strict quality and environmental requirements, offering experiences linked to natural and cultural heritage.
More information
www.spain.info/en/topic/natural-spaces-ecotourism/
www.soyecoturista.com/en
Journey
Fly to Barcelona, or take the train to Figueres or Vic.
Accommodation
La Perla
3-star, central
Deu Road, 9–11, Olot
www.hotellaperlaolot.com
Hotel Mas la Ferreria
4-star, rustic
Santa Margarida 17813
La Vall de Bianya, La Garrotxa
www.hotelmaslaferreria.com/en
Mas Garganta
Rustic luxury, family-friendly
Olot to La Línea Road
La Garrotxa
www.masgarganta.com
Restaurant
The Fifth Just
Member of Cuina Vulcànica
Passeig de Barcelona, 7, Olot
www.laquintajusta.cat
