Pyrenees Mountains Small Group Day Trip from Barcelona

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Leave Barcelona for the day to hike the spectacular Pyrenees mountains on a small group excursion from Barcelona by minivan. You'll visit charming mountain villages, travel in a comfortable air-conditioned minivan and receive individual attention from your expert tour guide.

The first stop on your small group tour is Vic, a beautifully maintained old market town with a beautiful cathedral. Next you’ll visit the stunning stone-built village of Queralbs, from where you'll catch the rack railway high into the Pyrenees to Nuria.

Here, you can spend the rest of the day exploring the beautiful mountain scenery, following hiking routes, horse riding, trying your hand at archery and going boating. See the itinerary for more details.

Please wear warm clothes and good walking shoes on this tour. This tour does not require any special physical condition, but a reasonable level of fitness is needed if you wish to walk in the Vall de la Coma de la Vaca. It's up to you how far and how high you want to go!

The Pyrenees Trail, Spain

Tuesday and Saturday

Unavailable Dates:

• December 24 to 26 (Christmas)
• December 30 to January 01 (New Year)

Tour departs from Placa Catalunya outside Banco de Espana opposite the Tourist Information Center

8:30am

Tour returns to original departure point at approximately 7:30pm

Hotel pickup not available

Head north quickly leaving the hustle and bustle of a busy Mediterranean city behind, driving past Montseny. The Montseny is a 30,000 hectare natural park that was designated a world biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1978 and is still a haven for wild boars, badgers, hares, foxes, red squirrels, eagles, and red partridges among others, living in beech, pine and oak forests.

Just an hour from Barcelona, and half way to the Pyrenees, stop for a short break in the ancient settlement of Vic. Here you will have a chance to stroll around the town center with its cathedral (a mixture of styles ranging from Romanesque to neo-classical), and its magnificent renaissance and baroque buildings; or to relax while having breakfast in the heart of the town: a beautiful arched square (one of the biggest of the country) where the market and other major events are held.

From Vic, continue up to the Pyrenees driving past the Montesquiu Castle, surrounded by dense Oak and Red Pine forests. Montesquiu Castle is a fortified building dating from the 10th century. Originally serving the military until 15th century, it later became a stately home.

The tour continues on from Vic to Ripoll, the founding of which has strong links to the evocatively-named Gifre el Pilos (Wilfred the Hairy), the first Count of Barcelona, who began a dynasty in the late 870's that would last into the 1400's. From Ripoll, gateway to the Vall de Ribes, the tour proceeds to Queralbs, which, at an altitude of 1,236 meters above sea level, is the last vehicle-accessible village on the way up to our mountain valley destination.

Queralbs has a population of only 200 permanent residents, but numbers are swollen in the summer when the age-old tradition of transhumance brings shepherds and their flocks up into the higher ground. This has been documented tradition since 1273, when the infant Jaume, son of Jaume 1 of Catalonia and Aragon bestowed the right to the grazing land on the people of the village. Here you will be able to see the Church of Sant Sadurni de Fustanya, built from stones so perfectly-hewn that legend has it that it was built by the fairies and witches said to inhabit the surrounding caves.

From Queralbs, you take the last 6 kilometers of the impressive rack railway, construction of which began in 1931, up to an altitude of 1964m above sea level, into the stunning mountain valley, formed by the glacial action of the ice from all 7 surrounding peaks pushing downwards. In the valley is a sanctuary, originally built to house pilgrims to the valley, which takes its name from the Virgen de Nuria. Her image, buried in the earth, was reputedly unearthed by a very persistent ox.

In the valley, you can enjoy the unspoiled scenery, sharing it with unusual birds and animals ranging from Gryphon Vultures to chamois, and golden eagles to marmots, and take one of the many different walks, of varying levels of difficulty, or you can try horse riding, open air bowling, archery lessons, crazy golf, or boating on the lake. If that seems too energetic, another option is to enjoy some of the traditional Catalan dishes available in the valley's restaurants.