From Bruguera to the Montagut spa. Route 32 Ripollès

A route that, between forests and magnificent views, takes us to the Montagut spa, where we can recall the historical, architectural and experiential scope of this ancient hotel. 

The route starts in Bruguera, next to the car park we find the intersection of Itinerànnia R135 and we will follow the direction indicated towards Ribes de Freser via Perramon. We will go down the cobbled streets until we reach Cal Nasi where we find the R136 junction, we will follow, again, the direction of Ribes de Freser for Perramon and we will go down through a beech forest following the Bruguera stream. 

The path continues until reaching Perramon. About 100 meters before reaching it we find the Perramon oak, declared a monumental tree of Catalonia. The trunk has many bumps, it branches at 3 meters, into three large buds. 

Between the Perramon house and the hermitage dedicated to Sant Esteve we find the R137 Perramon intersection. 

To get to the spa, we suggest following the direction indicated by the spa and the Baell, which goes along a path. It is also possible to take direction Ribes de Freser that goes along the track, but we propose to take this path on the way back, which will be uphill and easier to walk. 

We enter the forest with some views of the stream until we reach the R139 Balneari Montagut junction. At this point we follow the track in the direction of Baell. We go down, pass by the power station which still distributes today to some subscribers from Ripoll, Campdevànol and Sant Joan the Abadesses and we arrive at the bridge. 

Once there, you can get an idea of ​​what the spa was like when it was in full operation. To our left the garden with its large stone staircase, it goes up to the station linked to the establishment, a halt owned by Adif that served the spa when the Transpirinenc reached Ribes de Freser in 1929, the station building is identical to the Queixans and Toses stations. For safety reasons the passage is closed. In front of us some old sports courts. 

Crossing the bridge we can see the spa, the building is U-shaped, 19th century style and consists of three floors that house more than 100 rooms. The spa already existed in 1720 under the name Hostal de Banys. The waters of its carbonated and calcium springs are nourished by currents coming from the Taga area . In 1870, a first boarding house was built, which was expanded in different phases, until in 1914 a modernist style renovation was carried out in some rooms such as the reading room, the theater and the ballroom which, even now, can be enjoyed with its original decoration. 

Unfortunately, the road from Ripoll to Ribes cut the property in half, certainly contributing to the slow decline of the establishment, which has not welcomed any guests for decades. Guided tours of the building are currently offered from June to September. 

At the southern end of the establishment, inside the garden, stands the Hermitage of Remei built at the beginning of the s. 20th It is a sober building with a single nave with a bell tower. If we cross the road, following the markings we go along a path that goes behind the complex and we will see a part of the garden and the hermitage from above. 

Let's start the return, we cross the bridge again and go back along the track until we reach the R139 junction again. We could go back by the same path we came from, but to make the climb more pleasant we go along the track, called Camí de la Talaia. We continue direction Ribes de Freser, after about 700 meters we find the R138 Camps de la Talaia junction, where we follow the signs for Bruguera, continuing up the track, until we reach Perramon. We find the R137 junction again and now follow the return to Bruguera along the same path as the start of the route.