Tuixent and Gósol valleys

Tuixent was the cradle of trementinaires, those women who collected medicinal plants to spread ointments that were to be distributed from these lands, on foot, to nearby farmhouses but also to lands far away from the inland plains and the Catalan coast. To travel around Tuixent is to visit the lands that were the source of their supply.

Another feature of Tuixent that is in the Segre basin is that it receives two rivers: the Josa river by the northwest and the Mola river by the south, the waters of both joining and forming the Vansa river that in From here you will continue west to the Segre. Here the proposal is to climb the valley of La Mola and return through the valley of Josa. And in between? The sunny and fertile Gósol valley, this one from the Llobregat basin. It is not uncommon to travel three fantastic valleys of two different basins on the same route.

Description
The route begins in front of the Museum of the Trementinaires de Tuixent and departs along the main road east towards the valley of La Mola along a path that retains the dry stone walls of considerable width that can make us predict the importance had in the past Once you cross the road, you will see a path that goes to the left, marked as GR 150.If you follow it, you can access the Center of Flora and Botanical Garden of Tuixent.

The route, however, continues along the royal road, also at the next junction follow the GR 150 towards Gósol. The path connects with a track that descends to the sports center, follow the road, cross it and continue on the paved track that goes just in front. Before reaching a farm, continue on the road on the right, and continue parallel to the road, but now above it. If you turn around you will see the village of Tuixent and how the Vansa valley opens at your feet.

Just before reaching the road, you will come to a track in good condition that you have to follow east. Once you have crossed the fence that forbids access by car, there is the initial panel of the interpretative itinerary of the route of medicinal plants. From this point you just have to take yourself on this pleasant walk of gentle unevenness, which goes up the river La Mola. You will be able to discover the various plants that inhabit it. Of course, if you take the route in spring you will find most of the flowering plants in their prime. However, even if this is a time of year when some do not even have the aerial part, you can come up with an idea thanks to the illustrations you will find on the interpretative plates with the corresponding explanations.

You will arrive at a wider area where you can still see the remains of the Cortal d'en Jaume and just after crossing the river La Mola, those of the Molí de Ciment. From this point the path continues along the right bank of the river. Continuing the interpretative route, now through a more lush forest area, you will arrive at the recreational area of ​​the Planells del Sastró. The fountain that springs from here generously has a set of tables and barbecues installed, which can be a good resting place before you start off. If you have a good time you can follow the short tour of the self-interpreted arboretum that is proposed from the Natural Park of the Cadí Moixeró; a series of information boards will help you identify trees and shrubs in this riverbank forest.

When you decide to resume your journey - think you still have a long way to go - continue along the main track, following the GR up river. You will find the Pont de la Plana that you do not have to pass, but continue straight on. After a closed bend crossing the river, take the path on the right. You will pass through the Cortal del Foguetó, shortening the track that you will connect again a few meters above. Again you will find the old path on the right that will take you to the neck of La Mola just below the power line that you have been crossing as you go up. Alternate the climb up the sections enclosed in the leafy pine forest, with open sections with good views of the valley. Once on the pass, follow the path to the northeast, widened to sections for forestry work. As you descend, the Gósol valley will open in front of you, with the crop beams around the village and its castle on the hill; in the background the impressive Pedraforca.

After crossing the forest track up to five times, you will arrive at the church of Santa Margarida, documented since 1716 as a suffrage of the parish of the castle of Gósol. The Baroque altarpiece decorating the main altar was burned like so many others during the Spanish Civil War (1936- 1939). Keep going down and soon you will find the track that you will follow now until the next bend, where you will find the old road again and to connect with the track until the entrance of the village of Gósol to the west.

A well-deserved rest before resuming the march, now to the north of the town following the GR 150.1 along the road towards Josa de Cadí. A few meters later, before the social premises, you have to follow a track on the left. Little by little you will leave the village behind and pass between fields. When you reach the end of the cultivated area, the slope will be accentuated and the vegetation will cover you in splendid views. Once up the Josa pass, there is a recreational area with tables and barbecues, a good place to get overwhelmed in front of this viewpoint of the Gósol valley.

Then cross the road and you will quickly begin to descend, first along a wide path through the forest. Immediately you will find a first crossroads, keep going down the one on the left. Little by little, the path narrows to a path. Further down, in the middle of a bend, you will find another junction that will take you to the center of Cerneres by the Ginebreda stream. Keep going, however, heading west along the pleasant old road to Josa. Cross the road and descend to the level of the river Cerneres. Halfway you will still find another junction with the road that comes from Cerneres. Continue towards Josa and when you are almost under the core you will cross the river and climb up. If you still have some time, you can take a stroll through the alleys of this picturesque town inhabited at the foot of the Cadí. You can climb up to the parish church of Santa Maria and Sant Bernabé de Josa, built in the late s. XIX. Just to the west you will see the old parish of Josa, the hermitage of Santa Maria documented from the 10th century. XII. The mountain in front of you is the Cadinell, one of the beautiful silhouettes of the Sierra del Cadí.

The road that you have until Tuixent is a pleasant path of descent of the valley, pronounced at the beginning and softer later. Exit the nucleus along the old path that goes down to the stream of the hermitage passing through an area of ​​small cultivated fields and you will reach the point where they join the river Cerneres, from here to Tuixent takes the name of river of Josa. Follow the course down to the Molí de Josa to the west. The path climbs a bit along the left bank and enters a dense forest area, the shadow of the Cloterons. You will glide to the rock of Saioles, where it begins to descend again. You will see above, at the foot of the road, the Romanesque hermitage of Sant Jaume (11th century). You will cross the river under the house of the Rot and here already in a setting of riverside forest and on a wide path you will cross the river twice more to finally climb the road to Josa. Follow it one kilometer to the left, with caution on cars !. Break on the track also on the left, which will allow you to cross the river again via the Vinyals bridge. A few minutes later, retrieve the old path on the left that will lead you to the nucleus, entering Raval first and Escoles later, and you will see the square to the right, the end of the route.