Llagostera’s landscape provides an ideal setting for horseback riding.
Cavall de Mar offers the possibility to enjoy the landscape riding on a cart, or on a private, personalized excursion, as well as offers for incentive travel activities, romantic packages, schools, etc.
Information and rates:
The route of the mills: a walk through Ridaura into a singular landscape of unique buildings. The starting point is at the Station, where you can find a plan of the route.
Llagostera and its surroundings are perfect to hike and go on excursions on foot or on a bike.
Its large extension allows choosing from many different routes. Some of them, for example those of the Vall del Ridaura, are marked.
Excursions on foot or bicycle
Long and short distance footpaths
The long distance footpaths are mountain trails suitable for any walker. They are clean and marked narrow paths. The signals are easy to read and help to follow the path. There are red and white or yellow and white strips painted on stones, trees, electric poles, etc. There are two types of paths: Long distance footpaths (GR), covering more than 50 km and marked with red and white stripes, and short distance footpaths (PR), covering less than 50 km and marked with yellow and white stripes. These paths do not go through villages but lead, every 20 or 25 km, to places where lodging can be found. Hiking is a perfect way to discover nature.
Two paths run through Llagostera, a short distance path and a long distance path, the GR-92 Mediterranean. The short distance path (PR) goes from the mountain pass of Puig Montclar to Can Companyó, crossing the town following the old train tracks. The long distance path (GR-92) goes from Romanyà to Panedes and from Can Cabanyes de Montagut to Puig de les Cadiretes.
It is important for the hikers to evaluate the incidences that can appear on the path, such as the time of year, the distance to walk per day, where to sleep, water sources, etc. This information can be found in the Topo-guides. There is a Topo-guide for each path.
Together with the massif of Begur, the Gavarres massif is the northern end of the Catalan coastal range. Its curved arch-like shape widens toward the north between the counties of Baix Empordà and Gironès. It has an extension of 350 square kilometres, covering twenty municipalities: Calonge, Castell - Platja d’Aro, Corçà, Cruïlles-Monells-Sant Sadurní de l’Heura, Forallac, La Bisbal d’Empordà, Mont-ras, Palafrugell, Palamós, Santa Cristina d’Aro, Torrent and Vall-llobrega at the Baix Empordà county, and Cassà de la Selva, Celrà, Girona, Juià, Llagostera, Llambilles, Madremanya, Quart and Sant Martí Vell at the Gironès county.
To the north the massif limits with the Baix Empordà plain with a number of hills known as Pregavarres; to the north-west it meets the Transversal range and separates the plains of L’Empordà and La Selva; to the west limits with La Selva and to the south with the Vall d’Aro valley, a small depression where the Ridaura river separates the Gavarres and the Ardenya massifs. The Gavarres is a round shaped massif, the Catalan writer Josep Pla defined the shapes of the massif as being “elephantine”. The highest points are the twin peaks of La Gavarra (533 m) and Arques (527 m). There are other relevant peaks: Mare de Déu dels Àngels (485 m), Montigalar (467 m), Santa Pellaia (353 m), Puig Cargol (363 m) and Montnegre (285 m).
The Gavarres are situated between plains highly modified by human activity and close to a coast substantially altered. The massif offers an extensive forest landscape in all its extension.
The Gavarres territory is, as is always the case with any inhabited area, the reflection of the activities and living habits of the many human groups that have populated it. Houses point to the importance of the organization of society in families; the plot walls, irrigation, mills, ovens, etc. tell the tale of the means of subsistence of those families; the churches and paths are reminders of how the families got organised, and the names of the places and the legends reflect a way of thinking and perceiving the world.
The study of the landscape under a historical perspective allows discovering, under the thick carpet of vegetation covering the Gavarres, the remnants of the ways of life of those who have populated the successive stages of the history of the massif.
Places of interest:
● Panedes Neighbourhood. Nature area appropriate for hiking. Remnants of a Roman villa have been located here. Other places of interest in this area are the Panedes hermitage, Tower of the Moors, and fountain of Panedes.
● Well of Les Goges. Legendary and mysterious pond in the depth of the stream of Salenys.
● Wolf Waterfall. The waterfall is crossed by a hanging bridge that leads to the beginning of a via ferrata along the stream of Salenys.
The Ardenya Cadiretes massif is situated on the Catalan Coastal Range between the Gavarres and the mountains of Montnegre-Corredor. It separates the plain of La Selva from the sea. The highest point is Puig de Cadiretes (519 m).
It is a natural area formed by small granitic headlands continuing the Marina de la Selva and separating the plain of La Selva from the sea. The seaside slopes of the massif descend abruptly into the sea with a high and craggy coastline, exposed to the action of tidal waters. The whole massif is a natural area of exceptional aesthetic and landscape value. Its condition of coastline massif contributes to the conservation of an extensive coastal area and adds to the importance of the Ardenya/Cadiretes massif.
It is worth highlighting the geological uniqueness of some of the characteristic rock formations of the massif. The rocking stone of Pedralta is an example of these exceptional granitic rock outcrops and granite blocks, which, molded by erosive agents, present odd forms. The massif of L’Ardenya contains an Area of Geological Interest (EIG) listed on the Inventory of Areas of Geological Interest of Catalonia (IEIGC). This inventory is a selection of outcrops and points of geological interest that exemplify the geological evolution of the Catalan territory that needs therefore to be preserved as geological heritage.
The landscape of this massif is characteristic of the northern Mediterranean area, with a predominance of cork oak groves (Quercetum ilicis galloprocinciale suberetosum) and largely occupied by silicicolous undergrowth (Cisto-Lavanduletea).
In regard to the archaeological heritage, L’Ardenya contains numerous megalithic elements. The best-known monuments are the menhirs; the exact function of which, although related to funerary or religious ceremonies, remains unknown. A second type of burial is the artificial cave, concentrated mainly in the Begur massif and Cadiretes, which may indicate that this type of burial custom arrived by sea. Other outstanding elements are insculptured rocks, Palaeolithic sites, a number of Iberian settlements and the quart ustridium (site of funeral cremations).
The architectural items that define the Cadiretes massif are its farmhouses, hermitages and churches. Other less attractive but still important outstanding elements are, among others, fountains and boundary landmarks.
Places of Interest:
● Puig de Cadiretes. With an altitude of 518 m, it is the highest point of L’Ardenya/ Cadiretes range and Llagostera, and an excellent vantage point to see the Tossa de Mar coastline and the Gironès and La Selva counties. Also within sight are the Gavarres, Rocacorba, the Montseny, the Montnegre and the Guilleries, and even Montserrat.
● Menhir d’en Llach. This pink and black granite menhir is a phallic-shaped rock and measures 74 cm wide and 76 cm deep, and is 265 cm tall.
● Montagut Castle. Old pre-feudal fortress of the county of Girona. It towers over a wide area from the sea to the Canigó Mountain and has excellent sights.
● Can Cabanyes de Montagut. It is an old fortified farmhouse of which most of the defensive structure still stands. The house and its original owners are the theme of a legend. This is also the site of the so-called Sacrificial Rock, a big granite block.
● Can Cabanyes Cave. Natural granite outcrop that forms a small cave.
● Pedra sobre altra. (Rock on top). It is a paradolmen with a funerary chamber and 4 metres long corridor made of stone slabs, blocks and dry stonewall. The architectural type of the sepulchre hints to the date of construction at around 2500-2200 BC
Text: http://ardenyacadiretes.cat/
Link Route to Ardenya: http://www.turismegirones.cat/arxius/Trobada%20Cadiretes.pdf
THE MASSIF
Together with the massif of Begur, the Gavarres massif is the northern end of the Catalan coastal range. Its curved arch-like shape widens toward the north between the counties of Baix Empordà and Gironès. It has an extension of 350 square kilometres, covering twenty municipalities: Calonge, Castell - Platja d’Aro, Corçà, Cruïlles-Monells-Sant Sadurní de l’Heura, Forallac, La Bisbal d’Empordà, Mont-ras, Palafrugell, Palamós, Santa Cristina d’Aro, Torrent and Vall-llobrega at the Baix Empordà county, and Cassà de la Selva, Celrà, Girona, Juià, Llagostera, Llambilles, Madremanya, Quart and Sant Martí Vell at the Gironès county.
To the north the massif limits with the Baix Empordà plain with a number of hills known as Pregavarres; to the north-west it meets the Transversal range and separates the plains of L’Empordà and La Selva; to the west limits with La Selva and to the south with the Vall d’Aro valley, a small depression where the Ridaura river separates the Gavarres and the Ardenya massifs. The Gavarres is a round shaped massif, the Catalan writer Josep Pla defined the shapes of the massif as being “elephantine”. The highest points are the twin peaks of La Gavarra (533 m) and Arques (527 m). There are other relevant peaks: Mare de Déu dels Àngels (485 m), Montigalar (467 m), Santa Pellaia (353 m), Puig Cargol (363 m) and Montnegre (285 m).
The Gavarres are situated between plains highly modified by human activity and close to a coast substantially altered. The massif offers an extensive forest landscape in all its extension.
The Gavarres territory is, as is always the case with any inhabited area, the reflection of the activities and living habits of the many human groups that have populated it. Houses point to the importance of the organization of society in families; the plot walls, irrigation, mills, ovens, etc. tell the tale of the means of subsistence of those families; the churches and paths are reminders of how the families got organised, and the names of the places and the legends reflect a way of thinking and perceiving the world.
The study of the landscape under a historical perspective allows discovering, under the thick carpet of vegetation covering the Gavarres, the remnants of the ways of life of those who have populated the successive stages of the history of the massif.
Places of interest:
● Panedes Neighbourhood. Nature area appropriate for hiking. Remnants of a Roman villa have been located here. Other places of interest in this area are the Panedes hermitage, Tower of the Moors, and fountain of Panedes.
● Well of Les Goges. Legendary and mysterious pond in the depth of the stream of Salenys.
● Wolf Waterfall. The waterfall is crossed by a hanging bridge that leads to the beginning of a via ferrata along the stream of Salenys.
THE MASSIF
Together with the massif of Begur, the Gavarres massif is the northern end of the Catalan coastal range. Its curved arch-like shape widens toward the north between the counties of Baix Empordà and Gironès. It has an extension of 350 square kilometres, covering twenty municipalities: Calonge, Castell - Platja d’Aro, Corçà, Cruïlles-Monells-Sant Sadurní de l’Heura, Forallac, La Bisbal d’Empordà, Mont-ras, Palafrugell, Palamós, Santa Cristina d’Aro, Torrent and Vall-llobrega at the Baix Empordà county, and Cassà de la Selva, Celrà, Girona, Juià, Llagostera, Llambilles, Madremanya, Quart and Sant Martí Vell at the Gironès county.
To the north the massif limits with the Baix Empordà plain with a number of hills known as Pregavarres; to the north-west it meets the Transversal range and separates the plains of L’Empordà and La Selva; to the west limits with La Selva and to the south with the Vall d’Aro valley, a small depression where the Ridaura river separates the Gavarres and the Ardenya massifs. The Gavarres is a round shaped massif, the Catalan writer Josep Pla defined the shapes of the massif as being “elephantine”. The highest points are the twin peaks of La Gavarra (533 m) and Arques (527 m). There are other relevant peaks: Mare de Déu dels Àngels (485 m), Montigalar (467 m), Santa Pellaia (353 m), Puig Cargol (363 m) and Montnegre (285 m).
The Gavarres are situated between plains highly modified by human activity and close to a coast substantially altered. The massif offers an extensive forest landscape in all its extension.
The Gavarres territory is, as is always the case with any inhabited area, the reflection of the activities and living habits of the many human groups that have populated it. Houses point to the importance of the organization of society in families; the plot walls, irrigation, mills, ovens, etc. tell the tale of the means of subsistence of those families; the churches and paths are reminders of how the families got organised, and the names of the places and the legends reflect a way of thinking and perceiving the world.
The study of the landscape under a historical perspective allows discovering, under the thick carpet of vegetation covering the Gavarres, the remnants of the ways of life of those who have populated the successive stages of the history of the massif.
Places of interest:
● Panedes Neighbourhood. Nature area appropriate for hiking. Remnants of a Roman villa have been located here. Other places of interest in this area are the Panedes hermitage, Tower of the Moors, and fountain of Panedes.
● Well of Les Goges. Legendary and mysterious pond in the depth of the stream of Salenys.
● Wolf Waterfall. The waterfall is crossed by a hanging bridge that leads to the beginning of a via ferrata along the stream of Salenys.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
