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Eight of the best hikes in Catalonia

Long-term Catalonia resident and hiking enthusiast Esme Fox shares her tips and knowledge of some of the best routes in the northeastern region, with stunning waterfalls, volcanoes and lakes on the itinerary. 

Eight of the best hikes in Catalonia
The 8 best hikes in Catalonia. Photo: rodolfo7 / Pixabay

Almost every region in Spain offers a great array of hiking routes, but perhaps some of the best and most diverse can be found in the northeastern region of Catalonia, where you have the Pyrenees in the north, the coast to the east and countless natural parks in the interior. 

Camí de Ronda
The longest and most picturesque of all the routes in Catalonia is the Camí de Ronda or Camino de Ronda. It runs all the way along the coast from the border with France down to the border with the Valencia region. Passing through quaint coastal villages, along clifftops and even through tunnels, the route was originally created by smugglers who used to take their loot from one bay to the next. Later, these routes were joined together to form one long one by the civil guard, in order to control and catch the criminals.

The trail runs for a whopping 583km throughout the whole region, but the most spectacular and well-known sections of the hike lie within the Costa Brava, which starts from Blanes and runs all the way up to Portbou on the French border. This part is around 220km long and can be done in 12 stages, taking a total of 12 days. It’s not necessary to do the whole route, however, you could easily take a single stage and make a day trip out of it. It’s best done in early summer before the crowds arrive or in September when it’s still warm enough to swim along the way, but all the holidaymakers have gone home.  

The Camino de Ronda takes you right along the coast. Photo: Esme Fox
 

Mont-Rebei Gorge
The Congost de Mont-Rebei gorge is one of the most striking in the whole of Catalonia, where incredible aquamarine waters run between dramatic ravines and lofty cliff tops and vultures soar overhead. It’s a popular route and is moderately challenging with several ascents and dips walking along narrow pathways or staircases clinging to the edge of the rock. It’s situated approximately a three-hour drive west of Barcelona on the border with Aragón. You can choose to hike longer or shorter sections of the route, but the main and most popular part is around 12km there and back.

Hike along the sides of a gorge at Mont Rebei. Photo: Ramon Perucho / Pixabay

Ruta dels 7 Gorgs
Near the small village of Campdevánol​​​ in the province of Girona, close to the foothills of the Pyrenees, you’ll find one of the most thrilling hikes on our list – the route of the seven waterfalls. It’s exactly like it sounds, a hiking route between seven different waterfalls. It’s best to go in summer as you can swim in each of the falls, letting the icy water from the Pyrenees cool you down on those hot Spanish days. It’s a circular route of just 10km, with an extra 6km if you’re walking from Campdevánol​​​ train station, but it could end up taking all day if you plan on swimming in each. The route is relatively easy, but there are some tricky steep parts getting down and up again from some of the waterfalls. Because it’s so popular, the number of people allowed in per day is limited and you must pay an eco-tax fee of €5 per person from June to November.

Take a dip in the Campdevánol waterfalls to cool down. Photo: Alberto-g-rovi / WikiCommons
 

Camí del Vi
Catalonia’s wine route lies within the Penedès, an area known for producing excellent wines and cavas and home to some of the best wineries in the region. It starts in the town of Vilafranca del Penedès, the capital of the wine region and runs for 3.5km, taking around three hours to complete in total, there and back. From the tourist office, you’ll walk through the town and then out into the vineyards themselves. Along the way are eight different stations where you will learn about wine production and the life cycle of the vine, as well as the different varieties of grapes that grow in the area. There are plenty of bodegas (wineries) near by where you can stop for a drink too. 

Hike the wine route in Catalonia. Photo: Esme Fox

Ruta de los 7 Lagos del Circ de Colomers
Between the National Park of Aigüestortes and the Vall d’Aran, just went of Andorra in the high Pyrenees lies the route of the seven lakes. It’s a total of 15km, but there are taxis that can take you from the car park to the beginning of the route and back, taking it down to just 7km. One of the most spectacularly beautiful hiking routes, as the name suggests, it passes seven glassy mountain lakes hemmed in by towering peaks and verdant forests. It’s of medium difficulty level, meaning it’s best if you have a bit of experience with hiking in the mountains.  

This hiking route takes you past seven mountain lakes. Photo: rodolfo7 / Pixabay

Ruta por los volcanes de la Garrotxa
Just north of Girona lies La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, which offers one of the best examples of volcanic landscapes on the Iberian Peninsula, featuring 40 ancient volcanic cones and around 20 old lava flows. One of the best ways to explore it is via the various hiking routes throughout the park. The best is the circular hike from La Fageda d’en Jordà to the Santa Margarida volcano and on to El Croscat volcano, which is 12km and takes just over four hours complete.

Hike through the land of ancient volcanoes in La Garrotxa. Photo: Carquinyol / WikiCommons

Subida al Pedraforca
The most challenging hike on our list is the ascent of Mount Pedraforca, located in the high Pyrenees, just below Andorra. It’s one of Catalonia’s most iconic-looking mountains – resembling a pitchfork with a small dip in between two soaring pointed peaks, one measuring 2444m and the other 2506m. The starting points generally begin at the Mirador de Gersolet viewpoint, but there are several routes to reach the top. It takes between five and seven hours to complete, depending on your experience but is best avoided in winter and early spring from December to April when the snow can make it even more difficult.

Challenge yourself with the ascent of Pedraforca. Photo: Josep Monter Martinez / Pixabay

Ruta de Carros de Foc
Another hike within the mighty National Park of Aigüestortes is the grand Carros de Foc or Chariots of Fire. It’s a circular route of 65km and takes between five to seven days to complete between nine different mountain refuges, where you can stay the night. The route is characterised by high mountains and large granite boulders, as well as several sparkling mountain lakes. You’ll need some experience and stamina to complete this one. 

Hike the Ruta de Carros de Foc. Photo: Ferran Ventura / Unsplash

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TOURISM

How much more expensive will holidays in Spain be this summer?

Whether it be hotel prices rising or shortages in the aviation sector making flights more expensive, a summer vacation in Spain this year is likely to cost more than last year.

How much more expensive will holidays in Spain be this summer?

With lingering inflation, drought conditions, rising rents and building social tension surrounding the impact of mass tourism on Spanish society, summer 2024 could be an eventful one in Spain for a number of reasons.

It will probably also be more expensive than it was in the past, especially if you’re staying in a hotel or tourist apartment.

This follows a bumper Easter period that saw high occupancy and price rises across the country, and if forecasts and industry experts are anything to go by, it’s a trend that will continue into the summer season.

READ ALSO: ‘The island can’t take it anymore’: Why Tenerife is rejecting mass tourism

Hotel prices March increased by 10 percent compared to the same period in 2023, and have now experienced 34 consecutive months of price increases.

The average hotel room in Spain during March cost €109.2 per night, according to Hotel Tourism Situation data published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

How much more expensive will flights to Spain be this summer?

Firstly, flights. Aviation industry experts suggest that a perfect storm of conditions could cause the price of flights to increase for summer 2024. A shortage of commercial planes, caused mainly by a combination of problems on Boeing’s production line and Airbus having difficulties with engine manufacturers, will likely drive up prices around the world.

These “are factors that don’t make it easy for prices to fall,” according to Pere Suau, professor of Economics and Business Studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, who admitted that “it is difficult to measure the extent to which” they will go up. The key, in Suau’s opinion, is to see how demand will be affected by price rises. “As of today prices are rising, but demand is tolerating it, demand continues to grow,” he adds.

Reports in the Spanish media suggest that prices on budget airlines like Ryanair could rise by around 10 percent.

READ ALSO: EasyJet opens Spanish base in Alicante with ten new routes

How much more expensive will hotels in Spain be this summer?

So, flights will likely be more expensive this year. But what about hotels?

It’s difficult to say exactly by how much hotel prices will have risen by summer, but most estimates put it at somewhere in the 8-12 percent range, depending on factors such as location, occupancy, type of accommodation (ie. is it luxury or budget) and length of stay.

However, despite that, most experts seem to think the price rises will be slightly less than the 2023-23 year-on-year increases, when average hotel room costs shot up by 16.5 percent, according to statistics from SRT and Cushman & Wakefield.

Albert Grau, partner at Cushman & Wakefield’s Hospitality department in Spain, told El Periódico de España that: ‘We expect there to continue to be growth in prices… although it will be more moderate, in single digits, compared to the large increase in the last year.”

Spanish news outlet La Sexta reports that hotel rooms in the summer will be on average 11 percent more than last year, according to figures from INE and Travelgate.

Forecasts by American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) put Barcelona, long a popular tourist destination, among European cities where a significant increase in hotel prices is expected, with a projected rise of 9 percent. Other Spanish cities, such as Bilbao and Valencia, are forecast to see price jumps of around 8.5 percent.

In Andalusia, hotel sector insiders in Andalusia are expecting a 7 percent increase overall this summer, according to Trinitario Bertore, director of Hotel Plaza Nueva in Granada, who spoke to La Sexta. Bertore said a night’s stay in a hotel in Andalusia can now cost up to €210, a 7 percent rise compared to last summer.

José Luis Contreras, managing director of Apartamentos Valencia Costera, said prices in tourist flats in Valencia will also rise by around 7 percent and even reach an eye-watering €350 per night in the high season.

Both Bertore and Contreras said that there’s no need to lower prices because demand is increasing, despite the per night rate increases.

It seems clear that accommodation will likely be a more expensive for summer 2024 in Spain than it was last year, though the year-on-year rise will slow slightly. Most forecasts put the average expected hotel price rises at roughly 10-11 percent overall.

By exactly how much will depend on several factors: where you’re staying, and whether it’s a traditional tourist spot such as parts of Andalusia, Alicante, Valencia or the Canary and Balearic Islands; whether it’s a hotel or apartment; the quality of the accommodation; how long you’re staying; how far in advance you book; when exactly in the summer season you’ll visit Spain.

Aviation industry uncertainty also means that flights will become more expensive, so both travel and accommodation are likely to be more expensive in Spain this summer.

Tourism makes up a significant portion of Spain’s GDP. Predicted tourism earnings for 2024 are expected to bring in €202.65 billion, an 8.6 percent increase on 2023, a record year.

However, growing anti-mass tourism sentiment has been bubbling in Spanish society for some time now, with protests in various cities around the country decrying the impact, among other things, of Spain’s tourism model on the local housing market.

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