The two castles route. Route 6 Santa Pau

Start at signpost G29 Santa Pau and head towards Castell de Santa Pau. Pass under the arches to reach Plaça dels Valls and the majestic castle of Santa Pau. Once you have visited the castle, head back to signpost G29 and then towards ‘Castell de Colltort’. Walk down the street Carrer del Pont and cross a gully, Torrent de Pujolars. Carry on to the end of the street, where the yellow markings point you left into a small square, Placeta de Sant Roc. Leave the village and turn left to pick up a dirt track.  

Follow the paint marks as far as a junction of tracks, where you should turn left and continue until you reach a steep path that heads up right to a house, Cambrafosca.

Turn left onto a minor road that passes between fields that are well fenced-off to prevent wild boar (Sus scrofa) from entering. Keep straight on ignoring a road off to your left. Just a few metres further on, the volcano Rocanegra comes fully into view on your left and, just as the road drops down to a stream, on your left too you will see the abandoned quarry from where volcanic material was once extracted.

Once over the stream, walk up past a natural spring, Font del Clavell, on your left. Continue straight on to signpost G172 Sota Collellmir, from where you should head towards to ‘Castell de Colltort ’. Continue along the road to hamlet of Les Fages.

The road continues uphill through pastures and, just after the tarmac ends, takes you into a thick sweet-chestnut wood along a dirt track. Continue straight on until the markings point you to the right off the track and on to a path-cum-track running alongside an electric fence. After a while, the paint marks point you leftwards along a path that starts to zigzag up through a beech forest. When the path begins to flatten out you will see a huge beech tree on you right, after which you almost immediately reach the natural spring of Font de Fontpobra and signpost G88 Fontpobra; from here head towards ‘Castell de Colltort ’.  

Start to climb up a very eroded path that takes you out to a small saddle, Collet de Fontpobra, where you should turn right to continue contouring along the mountainside through patches of beech and holm-oak forest. Eventually, the path starts to head downhill quite steeply to another saddle, Collada de Colltort, and signpost G89 Collada de Colltort; from here head towards ‘Castell de Colltort’.

Continue uphill through a thick holm-oak forest until you reach an area of huge rock slabs. Quite suddenly, you will see the lower part of the stone walls of the castle ahead on top of a rocky outcrop. Once you have finished visiting the castle, head back to signpost G89 and continue down towards ‘Sant Miquel Sacot’.

Follow a path down through the beech forest until you come to a forest track, where you should turn left.  This track will take you out to a couple of houses and the hamlet of Sacot. Here, you will meet a minor road that will take you down to signpost G120 Sant Miquel Sacot, from where you should head towards ‘Santa Pau’. Head straight down a rocky path on to another minor road, which will lead you past a shrine devoted to Saint Isidre. Soon the road turns left, but you should head straight up into the woods along a path and then out on to a track. Continue along the track and then head straight on at the next junction, now walking on the slopes of the volcano of Santa Margarida.

At the next junction, head slightly to the left following the paint marks. The path flattens out and then starts to drop through a thick holm-oak forest. At a house, Mas Roure, the path widens out into a track and takes you down to signpost G30 Collellmir. Here, head for ‘Santa Pau’ along a minor road and back to signpost G172 Sota Collellmir. From here, simply retrace your steps back to Santa Pau.