Route Pincaró. Route 5 Parishes Alta Garrotxa

This whole area is covered by thick holm-oak forests that until the 1960s were intensively exploited for making charcoal. But, with the increasing popularity of fossils fuels, this local cottage industry suffered

  • Modality
    • By foot
  • Region
    • Alt Empordà
  • Time
    • Less than 3 hours
  • Difficulty
    • Medium
  • Estimated duration
    • 2h50min (anada)
  • Distance
    • 10km
  • Hide elevation maximum
    • 678m
  • Hide elevation minimum
    • 232m
  • Ascent
    • 452m
  • Descent
    • 270m
  • Thematic
    • Parishes Alta Garrotxa routes

In the village of Albanyà begin at signpost AE66 Albanyà and start walking towards ‘Sant Bartomeu de Pincaró’.

Walk through the village, turn left on to a minor road that will take you to a bridge over the river Muga. A few metres beyond the bridge, at signpost AE67 Pont de la Muga continue towards ‘Sant Bartomeu de Pincaró’.

Continue walking along this minor road past a camp site with the river Muga down to your right.

At a junction of tracks, head up the paved track to the left marked with the yellow paint of the Itinerànnia network of paths and the red and white of the GR11 long-distance footpath.

From here on, the road begins to climb through pinewoods and then holm-oak woods; follow the road, alternating with sections of path that short-cut through the woods until you reach signpost AE74 Collet de la Teia with indications to ‘Sant Bartomeu de Pincaró’.

Turn right along a track marked with red-and-white GR11 paint markings, from where there are occasional views down to your right to Albanyà and its valley.

In five minutes you’ll come to signpost AG9 Serra de Bossols, where you should continue on towards ‘Sant Bartomeu de Pincaró’.

Continue through the thick holm-oak woods as far as a junction of tracks; turn right and start to head gently downhill. Ignore a track that comes in from the left and continue straight on through a more humid forest with a few sweet chestnuts and deciduous oaks.

Soon the yellow paint marks point you off to the left along a path that takes you to a house, Casa Coll. Walk through the grounds of the house, under an arch on the right and as far as a green gate that leads to the path down to the church of Sant Bartomeu.

Follow the yellow marks down through a thick holm-oak forest, crossing a few open areas with small screes that provide views of the church bell tower below. Quite suddenly, you reach a small clearing and then the church of Sant Bartomeu. Once you have visited this delightful small church, retrace your steps to Albanyà.