Arrival at Olot from Barcelona or Girona airport. We’ll use the day to explore the capital of the region in Catalonia called Garrotxa. It contained medieval buildings which were destroyed in 1427 and 1428 due to the earthquakes. Nowadays, the most remarkable features of the city are its cultural and artistic life. Some of the most important monuments in the region are the church of Saint Steve, the sanctuary of the Virgin of Tura, the cloister of Carme, not to mention the houses built in a modernist style in the city. We also recommend visiting the Volcano Museum and hiking up the crater of the volcano Montsacopa, which allows you to have an excellent view over the city.

2nd DAY

• Level: Medium
• Net increase in altitude: 750m
• Round-trip

This spectacular and peaceful ride goes through the main villages in the area. The municipality of Vall d’en Bas is top rated by its geography and landscape. Ridges and hill ranges surround the fields and forests to reach the plain of Bas. This tour will lead you to Sant Esteve d’en Bas, main administrative capital of this ensemble: Hostalets d’en Bas, one of the most picturesque hearts of the region, Joanetes, little town located by the foot of the mount Puigsacalm, Mallol, with lots of medieval history and Pinya, located in the north end of the valley. This tour is mainly ridden through secondary roads, which allows you to enjoy the exceptional landscape among the summits of the valley.

3rd DAY

• Level: High
• Net increase in altitude: 1333m
• Round-trip

The main aim in this tour is to explore the upper area of the region, called Alta Garrotxa. We’ll start out in Olot and we’ll continue our way through secondary roads that will lead us to different villages such as Sant Joan les Fonts, famous for its recently discovered lava flows and the Romanic monastery, Castellfollit de la Roca, know for its location, on top of basaltic scraps, formed as a consequence of the erosive action of the rivers Fluvià and Toronell over the millennial volcanic rests. Afterwards, we’ll continue towards Sant Jaume del Llierca, Argelaguer and right before reaching Besalú, we’ll take the road towards Sales de Llierca. Next we’ll visit Tortellà, Montagut and we’ll follow through the valley of Bac (Vall del Bac) where we’ll reach the top of three mountain passes: Coll de Carrera (663m), Coll de Mariner (937m) and Capsacosta (870m). We suggest that you visit Santa Pau, a medieval town located in the Volcanic Zone. Lastly we’ll start the descent through Hostalnou de Bianya until we reach Olot.

4th DAY

• Level: Medium
• Net increase in altitude: 800m
• Round-trip

This route starts in Olot and follows secondary roads that go across Batet de la Serra and Begudà. We’ll continue through Castellfollit de la Roca, Sant Jaume del Llierca, Argelaguer and we’ll reach Besalú, a town declared good of national interest with some feature to stand out, such as themedieval bridge, the old town and its monasteries: Sant Pere, Santa Maria and Sant Vicenç. We’ll leave Besalú behind to ride towards Banyoles where we’ll discover its lake, which is the biggest in Catalonia. We’ll start heading back, riding across Mieres and Santa Pau, a medieval town with a high historic interest. After that, we’ll penetrate into the heart of the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park where we recommend you to visit the beech forest called Fageda d’en Jordà, and the volcanoes of Santa Margarida and Croscat.

5th DAY

• Level: High
• Net increase in altitude: 1980m
• Round-trip

This is the route on the tour with the highest gain in altitude. It is a challenge worth reaching. The tour begins in Olot, riding across Batet de la Serra and Begudà, where we’ll take the old road towards Castellfollit de la Roca. After riding across the village, we’ll take the road towards Oix, a curved road that you will surely enjoy. We’ll follow this road until we reach Beget, a Romanic and picturesque village, which is an architectonic monument as a whole. We’ll continue on the same road towards Camprodon, where we’ll reach the highest point of the route, the mountain pass called Coll de Buixeda (1096m) in an area called Rocabruna. We’ll finish our way back riding across Camprodon, Sant Joan les Abadesses and Olot, going through the valley of Bac.

6th DAY

• Level: Medium
• Net increase in altitude: 890m
• Round-trip

This is one of the most famous routes in this area, since a part of it is included in the itinerary of one of the most important races in the region. We’ll start off in Olot and we’ll gradually ride our way up to the mountain pass called Capsacosta (870m), leaving the valley of Bianya behind. During this part of the tour, we’ll ride across the old Roman road, also called Via Annia, which connected the Catalan region Empordà with the Pyrenees. We’ll continue through Sant Joan les Abadeses until we reach a pass called Santigosa(1060m), the highest point of the route. From here, we’ll start the decent towards Olot.

7th DAY

Time to go back. If you haven’t booked a private transport, you have the option to take a public bus which will take you to Girona. From there you can take a bus either towards Barcelona or towards Girona Airport.