From Feners to Bonner through the Fraus path

Feners and Bonner are two small hamlets of medieval origin located in the upper valley of the Valls River. The isolation of these lands has shaped their destiny: Feners, located beside the road from Saldes to Gósol, is still inhabited today; Bonner, however, is now abandoned and only a few standing walls remain. The two places are connected by two historic paths: the Camí de les Fraus, which crosses the lands of the former Castle of Fraumir, and the old royal road linking Gósol and Berga. The combination of these two routes forms this itinerary, which crosses wild landscapes that seem to transport visitors back in time.

Description

The route begins in Feners, an architectural complex of medieval origin (13th century) made up of several houses, porches and the chapel of Sant Antoni (18th century), located on an elevated platform and surrounded by old fields and meadows. The complex is the result of an evolution over time that led to modifications to the original medieval structure.

Start by following the track that descends south towards the Aigua de Valls River. There you will find a fork in the path where you join the Camí dels Bons Homes (GR 107), a long-distance trail that connects Berga with Ariège in Occitania. Just after crossing the bridge over the Rúixol stream, continue following the main GR route by taking the track that climbs to the left. The return will follow the variant route (GR 107.1), along the track that follows the river.

You will pass several farms and at the next junction you must continue to the right. A few metres later you will find the fork where you leave the GR and follow the yellow markings of the Berguedà Path Network. Here you can observe the dry-stone walls that delimit the agricultural terraces, evidence of the work once carried out on these lands. It is a pleasant path through woodland with occasional clearings. At the next track junction you must also turn right and soon, fully immersed in a forest of Scots pine, the path narrows into a small trail. The slope, which until now has been very gentle, will begin to climb.

At the highest point you will see a small hill that once hosted the Castle of Fraumir (13th century), of which only a fragment of the defensive wall remains today, built on a rock now covered in vegetation. The site is documented as early as the 12th century as one of the boundary points in a land transaction within the territory of the Castle of Gósol. In 1196 Guillem de Fraumir is documented, and the lineage continued throughout the 13th century, the period in which the castle was built.

The path then becomes flatter and eventually descends until it reaches the Bonner track, which follows the GR 107.1. Before beginning the return to Feners, it is worth following the track to the left to reach the abandoned hamlet of Bonner, where the hermitage of Santa Eulàlia de Bonner once stood, a Romanesque church dating from the 12th century. Its isolated location eventually led to its abandonment. The church remained standing until the late 20th century, but today it is also in ruins. It is a wild yet charming place, welcoming and very sunny, offering spectacular panoramic views thanks to the wide opening towards the south where the valley of the Aigua de Valls unfolds. On the opposite hillside there are also other small settlements such as Moripol, also completely abandoned, and Vilacireres further south, where a few houses still remain, including Can Blanc de Vilacireres.

If you continued along the track uphill you could reach the former mining village of Peguera, but this itinerary proposes returning via the Molí de Güell. To do so, retrace the short section of track you have just walked and continue descending towards the river. You will pass the Coll de Castellar and find a junction that leads to Pont Cabradís, a beautiful natural spot where the river has carved a tunnel through the rock. If you decide to extend the route to visit it, be aware that the path is not easy: there are some sections that require scrambling and you should also pay attention to the risk of sudden floods.

As you approach the river you will see downstream a small hydroelectric power plant fed by the Valls River, and upstream the former caretaker’s house, now restored and inhabited. On the right you will also see a small abandoned farmhouse called La Feixeta, which forms part of the small cluster of buildings around Molí d’en Güell, which you will soon reach beside the river. It is an old flour mill built at the end of the 17th century that reproduces the structure of a traditional Catalan farmhouse. It was very active throughout the 19th century and until the early 20th century, when it was modernised and operated as a proper flour mill. It was abandoned shortly after the Spanish Civil War.

At the same time as the mill, the old bridge of the historic royal road from Gósol to Berga was also built. Today this road has been replaced by the track you have followed, and you can see how a modern concrete bridge was later attached to the old one to allow vehicle access.

After crossing the river, a short climb will take you back to the main track towards Feners, which you should now follow upstream. Along the way you will see the canal that supplies the small hydroelectric power station, pass through the tunnel known as the “Tunnel de l’Avi”, and shortly afterwards cross the Malpas bridge. This path is much more open than the one followed on the opposite hillside and offers elevated views over the river until you reach the junction with the GR 107 again. From there you only need to climb back up to Feners along the same track used at the beginning of the route.