12 essentials: what to see and do in La Garrotxa (Girona)

Since I learned about its great attractions, I had been wanting to make a getaway to the city for a long time. La Garrotxa region, inside the Girona province en Catalonia.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Baja La Garrotxa, leaving for another occasion to know the upper area of ​​this region, the closest to the Pyrenees.

At the outset I will tell you that La Garrotxa It is located just an hour and a quarter away by road from Barcelona, ​​making it an ideal place to get away during a tourist trip to the Catalan capital.

It is a relatively isolated inland area, which stands out for its great explosion of nature,

So in your tour of La Garrotxa You will go through landscapes of hills and valleys with lush forests of holm oaks and oaks, and you will also be able to see an outstanding beech forest.

You will understand the reason for this explosion of nature that characterizes La Garrotxa knowing that it is a volcanic zone where there are 42 small volcanoes catalogued.

The majority concentrated in the area of Santa Pau, the last identified eruption dates back to 17.000 years ago, although the result of the volcanic action was the creation of a lake, so that today it has become the most fertile area of ​​Catalonia.

In a getaway to La Garrotxa Can you do it nature activities, but you also find many corners of cultural interest such as its very beautiful medieval towns.

What to see and do on the La Garrotxa tourism visit

As an invitation, I am going to highlight the main places of interest that you should visit for tourism in Baja Garrotxa. pending a future trip to the Alta Garrotxa.

Natural park of the Volcanic zone in La Garrotxa

As I have mentioned, the Baja Garrotxa it's an old volcano zone, which is now reflected in the so-called natural park of the volcanic zone. which extends over 120 square kilometers.

On your tour through this area of ​​the region, among the very lush vegetation you will be able to see or guess several volcanic cones, such as the Santa Margarita volcano, inside which is located an ancient Romanesque hermitage.

In the same town of Olot, considered the capital of Garrotxa, another volcanic cone rises.

Croscat Volcano in La Garrotxa

But perhaps the most visited corner is the Croscat Volcano, from which a lava flow of about six kilometers in length emerges, on which sits another of the most notable corners of the region, the Jorda beech forest.

You will reach the base of the volcano by hiking after leaving the car on the road, and once there, you will be able to see a huge gorge that breaks one of its slopes, where its reddish lands stand out.

This is the result of the exploitation of clay  or volcanic slag, which was carried out for 25 years in said area, until it stopped definitively in 1991.

Castellfollit de la Roca in La Garrotxa

At the entrance to this place you find a information Center where through information panels you can learn about the history of the formation of these volcanoes.

It should also be noted that on one of the basaltic flows the town of Castellfollit de la roca, configuring one of the most famous postcards of La Garrotxa.

Besalú in La Garrotxa

Besalú has always been the natural access from the coast to the La Garrotxa region and it is, by far, the most touristy town in this area, one of the corners on the excursion agenda for those who spend the summer in the area. Costa Brava.

In this medieval village with a monument, its long bridge, which has become one of the iconic tourist images of Catalonia.

Its greatest boom was during the time when it was an independent county, between the 10th and 12th centuries.

And the famous Besalú bridge It dates back to the 12th century and was built to save the waters of the Fluvia River; with seven arches, in it there are two doors.

On your walk through historic center of Besalú you will be able to see your Church of San Pedro, from the year 977 with its curious circular apse with ambulatory.

And also him miqvé or room ritual baths that the ancient Jewish community enabled, the only one from medieval times discovered in Spain.

Santa Pau in La Garrotxa

Apart from the touristy Besalú, if in your trip to Garrotxa You want to know a very authentic town where when you walk you will really feel transported to medieval times, you must visit Santa Pau.

It is a walled town from the 13th century that was built from a castle.

On your walk through its interior you will pass through arcaded galleries, small squares and, above all, many charming corners.

In some of the buildings you can see Gothic or Renaissance windows.

Hostalets and other towns in the Vall d'en Bas

If you want to see one of the most typical postcards of La Garrotxa you should approach Hostalets d´en Bas. at Valle d'en Bas.

Currently this very small town is experiencing a greater tourist boom as it has become another road access thanks to the highway that passes through Vic arrives in said region.

You will find the aforementioned postcard in the town square, in reality Teixeida street, with the beautiful scene of the houses with balconies covered in geraniums, with the background image of the church tower.

It is actually a charming corner, but in this area of ​​the Valle d'en Bas you can also see others nice corners, of which I am going to highlight three others.

During our visit, the one that surprised us the most was San Privat d´en Bas, a village with a charming square that you will access after crossing under a portico.

For its part in the nearby The Mallol You also find a couple of streets with beautiful corners, as well as a narrow prison from medieval times.

And in San Esteve d`en BasIn addition to seeing a 12th century church, you will be struck by the façade of the old Rectoral House.

Jordá beech forest in La Garrotxa

As a nature enclave, another place to visit in Baja Garrotxa is Jorda beech forest (Fageda d´en Jordá).

It is a natural reserve that, as I have already mentioned, extends along the stream of the Croscat volcano.

Therefore, during your walk through this nice beech, the southernmost in Europe at a height of about 550 meters, and which occupies the bottom of a valley, you will be able to see that you are walking through volcanic soils.

To highlight the monolith that you will find on the access path to the entrance to the beech forest, which is dedicated to the poet Joan Maragall, who wrote a famous poem based on the inspiration that a visit to this forest produced.

Olot, capital of La Garrotxa

El largest town in Baja Garrotxa es Olot, whose medieval city was destroyed by an earthquake, so that it was rebuilt in Renaissance style.

While center of Olot It shows the atmosphere of a modern town, it has some outstanding corners.

For example, the Convent of Carmen from the 16th century, which now houses an art school.

Or the old hospice built by the architect Ventura Rodríguez, with a three-story patio and where you can visit the ethnographic museum of La Garrotxa.

But also in Olot some stand out modernist houses, specifically, the Casa Sola Morales renovated by architect Domenech and Muntaner in 1916, with a façade with plant motifs and two caryatid figures.

To also point out the Casa Gaietà Vila, in which some medieval style element will catch your attention, such as a battlement.

Map: how to get to La Garrotxa

La La Garrotxa region It is located one hour from the city of Girona and two hours north from Barcelona.