04 - El Pedraforca

From the medieval town of Bagà, with its porched square, Galcerán de Pinós, and the cobbled streets of the s. XIII, this route begins. A town of 2100 inhabitants that offers all services, with different options for eating and staying. An ideal point to start and finish this great tour.

The name of the route comes from the most emblematic mountain in the Berguedà region: Pedraforca, located at 2,506 meters high. A mountain where, be it legend or history, they said that during the night of Sant Joan all the witches of the regions gathered in the upper part.

The route begins with a long climb up to the Coll de la Bena and later towards the Coll de la Bauma, which will take us right into the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park, one of the largest natural spaces in Catalonia. It is a typical mountainous landscape of the Pyrenees. Despite pedaling in high mountains, the tracks are usually in very good condition, especially those that run inside the Park.

From the Bauma pass, a long descent begins, passing through the Santuari de Gresolet. Together with the village of Vallcebre, they are two points where you can stop for refreshments, before going back up towards Tossal Lisol, a good viewpoint over Cadí-Moixeró. From there, thanks to an orientation table, we can locate and observe the most prominent peaks: Penyes Altes, Comabona and even Puigmal. Stopping there is absolutely mandatory.

Pedraforca, the magical mountain, will keep appearing in a more imposing way. It will surely make us put our feet on the ground to admire the beauty of this mountain and realize that we have nothing to envy in any alpine landscape.

We will close the loop following the Via del Nicolau, a road that was built at the beginning of the s. XX to transport wood, from Guardiola de Berguedà to Bagà. A good time to start stretching your legs and enjoy what you experienced on this great gravel day.