Route of the medieval villages and hiking in the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone

Description

The Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park is the best example of volcanic landscape in the Iberian Peninsula. It has around forty volcanic cones and more than 20 lava flows. Its orography, soil and climate give it a varied and often exuberant vegetation, with holm oak, oak and beech forests of exceptional landscape value that form an impressive lunar landscape of dark sand, black, red, green and purple colours. The most emblematic volcanoes are those of Santa Margarida, Montsacopa and Croscat, the largest and youngest on the Iberian Peninsula. To these must be added an architectural heritage that includes churches and castles. The park is made up of eleven municipalities, three of which we will visit because of their historical importance. With these three towns, we will follow an interesting route of medieval villages. The town of Besalú, which has a medieval historic-artistic ensemble considered one of the best preserved in Catalonia. Castellfollit de la Roca, one of the most picturesque medieval villages in Catalonia, perched dramatically on a cliff at the meeting point of two rivers. And Sant Joan de les Fonts, a municipality with numerous historical and medieval monuments, such as its important 12th century monastery, declared of National Interest in 1981.