Ascent to Puigmal route. Route 7 Vall de Ribes

A route for climbing the Puigmal, the highest peak in the Ribes Valley and all the Eastern Pyrenees. Before reaching the Collet de les Barraques we come to the Corral Blanc hut, where we can rest and recover our strength. From the peak on clear days we can see from the French part of La Cerdanya to the plain of Vic. This route can also be done in two stages.

A linear route that enables us to climb the highest peak in the region. We start at the Plaça del Casal de Planoles, at the R150 camí de la Baronia crossing. The climb to the peak of the Puigmal from this point takes around seven hours. The first few metres are along the streets of the village, where we see the GR signposted.

We walk up through the wood to the R147 can Fosses crossing. We cross the road twice and reach the Pl1 carretera del collet de les Barraques crossing. Just before reaching the pass we come to the Corral Blanc hut and continue to the collet de les Barraques, we reach the R199 crossing. We have some four hours to go. We turn left and follow a broad path to the meadows of Roc Blanc, where we find a well-marked path along the Dòrria ridge that takes us to the pas dels Lladres (the “thieves’ pass”), a historic trans-frontier pass.

For a few hundred metres we follow the track on the right-hand side that flanks the ridge of the pas dels Lladres, the culminating point of the old winter station, and takes us to the hollows of the Puigmal, from which we see the summit. Here we start the last climb, up a steep scree to the last ridge section. We descend from the peak along the same route we have followed.