Monars Route. Route 6 Parishes Alta Garrotxa

At signpost AG10 Bassa de Monars, head towards ‘Sant Sebastià de Monars (pel Corral de Masmitjà)’ along a path that drops down to a cattle trough next to the pond (Bassa de Monars). A few metres further on you will come to a wooden post, where you should pick up the clearest path, with a few paved sections, heading straight down through a pass between the rocks.

Continue down through a forest consisting mainly of downy oaks with box-trees, and the odd beech. Note the clearings where charcoal was once made and the abandoned terraces, which indicate that until just a few decades ago there was still considerable human presence in this area. From here on, the forest begins to thin out and small open clearings appear as you approach the ruins of a very run-down building, Corral de Masmitjà. This cattle pound was once used to housed the cattle from the farm Masmitjà and also provided shelter for herds passing through on their way up to or down from the high pastures.

Once past the corral, drop down a few metres to where the yellow paint marks point you left to the farmhouse of Masmitjà itself. Continue straight on past the house into the oak forest on what is an old drover’s trail that once linked the farms in the neighbourhood of Monars. The yellow marks then soon point you right on to a track that heads downhill to the church. Leave the track and pick up a narrow path that comes out behind Cal Bessó, a house situated opposite the church of Sant Sebastià de Monars.

Once you have visited the church, head past Cal Bessó and follow the paint marks on towards Mas de l’Om. However, instead of passing in front of the house, pick up a path that heads left into the forest along another stretch of drover’s road. Enter a magnificent oak forest, in which as you progress beech and yew trees begin to take over from the oaks.

In one stand of beeches, take a sharp bend and cross a stream, a spot known as L’Estret (The Narrows). From here the path starts to climb and then zigzags uphill to an open area, Pla de la Vaca. Along this stretch the path is somewhat unclear and the best option is keep heading north and sooner or later you will find the marks that indicate that you are on the right path.

The views over L’Alta Garrotxa are magnificent but soon you enter an area of woods with a series of tall box trees. Eventually, you reach another open area, Coll de Moltó, where you should turn right. Climb a little and head back into the forest. Walk up to a series of drinking troughs and then keep left. 

Here you will find green-and-orange waymarking, corresponding to Route 3 of the itineraries devised by the Alta Garrotxa Consortium that climbs to the summits of Comanegra and Puig de les Bruixes. However, you should follow the yellow paint marks through a succession of small pastures and patches of forest. The path is relatively flat and every now and then there are good views south.

Pass a spring, Font de l’Avellanosa, which is usually dry, and come to Collet de l’Orri and signpost AG11 pointing you on to ‘Bassa de Monars’. From here on it’s simply a question of following the track back to Bassa de Monars and the starting/finishing point of this walk.