Sadernes to St. Aniol
Old Bridges, forest and river walk.
Full day trip in a beautiful afforested and mountainous area in Alta-Garrotxa (northern Catalonia ) right on the Spanish-French border. The walk along the river El-Llierca is easy but not too short. An energetic walk including pic-nic in St Aniol can take 5 to 6 hours. Its 7 km from Sadernes to St. Aniol (not including the short walk and time to the waterfall). The trail is good and marked with yellow signs. In few of the river crossings you will need to leap on rocks and I was told that in the rainy season, when the river is high there are places you just cannot cross. About half of the trail is in the wood and half along the river.
The official start of the walk is in the tiny village of Sadernes which is located HERE. But if you happened to visit in the low season you can continue driving further-up the dirt road up-till you find a parking place. Park only on marked designated parking places. Parking up the dirt road will shorten the walking distance. In the high season the dirt road is blocked immediately after Sadernes.
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* Remark: 1st old Bridge is actually 3.5 km before Sadrenes it is worth stopping for few minutes in a view point on the very old bridge named: Pont Medieval de Llierca. The view point on the road is HERE Parking for the view point is 100 meters along the road. after the view point turn left into dirt road in the wood- and left again and park there. Its a 1 minute walk to the bridge on the other side of the road.
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After the car park in Sadernes:
The initial walk along the dirt road is beautiful by itself. In some-places you are walking inside a gorge and can even see rock climbers training high up the rocks above you. On the map below you will see the place where the trail bifurcates and you turn left. Cross the river on a second beautiful old bridge, into a renovated old Mas which operates as a coffee house and restaurant during high season. Here the dirt road turns into a narrow path along the river banks, which you follow till reaching St. Aniol monastery ( located HERE).
The St. Aniol perimeter includes two buildings: the monastery and a large building that on December 2017 was still being renovated to become a refuge for walkers. Since the renovation works are done by volunteers, it is expected to take few more years till reaching its final status. You yourself can help by taking a 5kg of sand packed on plastic bags and waiting for strong volunteering visitors on piles in one location on the trail. On the high season you can expect that the monastery will be opened (by volunteers) and even some basic snacks and coffee will be on sale. Anyway its a nice place for a picnic and on a rainy year there is also a drinking water tap (which didn't work when I visited there because of the dry season), so my suggestion is bring your own drinking water with you. Also on the busy season you can enter and visit the nice hermitage. Other times it is closed.
After your picnic you can return right-away or continue for a about 15 minutes to a beautiful waterfall and few pools on the river. You will see signs directing to the waterfall on the faraway side of the St. Aniol perimeter but be aware: the descent into the waterfall is VERY VERY steep and you will have to crisscross the river while hugging some rocks in order not to fall into the water of the beautiful pools.
Warning: Its is not recommended and even dangerous for the ones who are not mastering the genre to go from St. Aniol monastery further-on to the pools and waterfall!
The way back is almost the same as you climbed up. In one stage on the way back you can merge into the dirt road earlier so the walk will be faster than in the trail. You will meet your car again in Sadernes (or closer in the dirt road if you succeeded to advance).
On Sadrenes there is a restaurant so you can finish with beer/ coffee / or a good meal.
Driving out tip: If you drove to the area from the west - you can exit from the east and look carefully (or visit) the beautiful rock seating village Castellfollit de la Roca (located HERE).
Remark: You can also trek to St. Aniol from Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans in France, but its a much longer and demanding trek.
Summary:
Length: 14 km (not including the waterfall)
Difficulty: Easy -Medium (not including the waterfall)
Water & food: bring with you
Start point: HERE
Download GPS trail HERE .
Map HERE.