STAGE 14
COLOMERS - BÀSCARA
- Distance: 18.9 km
- Difficulty level: EASY
- Maximum altitude: 125
- Minimum altitude: 24
- height gain: 543
- height loss: 510
Stage 14: COLOMERS - BÀSCARA
We will leave the village of Colomers along Comerç street and then we will turn left along Sant Jordi street and when we reach the GI-631 road that goes to Vilopriu, we will cross it and take the path just in front of it.
After a short while, we will take the first crossroads we will see on our right, which is marked with a wooden sign announcing that it is a section of a Roman road from the 2nd century AD.
We will walk along this ancient branch of the Via Augusta for about 800 metres, and shortly after we see that the characteristic cobblestones of the Roman road disappear, we will reach a fork and take the path on the right.
We will follow it for about 700 metres until we reach a crossroads with 4 paths, and at this point we will turn left. At the next crossroads with 5 visible paths we turn left again.
After 700 metres we will reach the esplanade of the small church of Sant Roc.
The path descends and bends, passing a couple of houses until it reaches what is now a visible street in Gaüses de Baix.
After the visit, we will continue along the asphalted road towards Pins, another Vilopriu aggregate, like Gaüses, but in this case consisting of only 9 houses and the church.
We will pass in front of the church of Sant Bartomeu and following the road, which curves to the left, we will come out on the other side of this tiny neighbourhood.
Shortly after descending we will take the dirt track on our right (GR-1) that will take us directly to Camallera.
The village has all kinds of services (supermarkets, bars, restaurants, etc.) and to visit the parish church of Sant Bartomeu and the hermitage of San Sebastià, which is only 40 metres from the entrance to the village.
To avoid the danger of the busy GI-623 road and the obstruction caused by the railway line, the route follows the outside of the village.
To do so, we will take the asphalted road that leaves the railway line on our left and after 1.7 km, passing through a tunnel under the road, we will reach the neighbouring aggregated village of Saus.
We will enter the village through the Calle de les Eres, and going down we will pass next to the street that leads to the church,
When we will reach a playground, we will turn left into Nou street.
After a short while, leaving the last houses, we must continue straight on along the dirt track which, by means of a tunnel, passes under the railway line.
Just after this we will see a crossroads of 4 paths and we must continue straight on along this dirt road without taking any detour for 1 kilometre.
When you reach a fork, we will take the path to the right, which leads you through a pine forest to the upper part of Vilaür.
We will pass by the stone fence of Can Puig (a huge 18th century manor house) and at the end of the building, we will turn right into Carrer de Dalt, passing under the archway that connects the buildings of this enormous farmhouse.
Then we will turn left along Travessera de Dalt street as far as the road leading to Camallera.
We will cross it and go down the street in front (carrer de la Font), but first it is advisable to visit the village square where there is a church dedicated to San Esteban.
To do this we must cross a discreet stone arch that we will see on our right.
Then we will resume the route going down Carrer de la Font and at the end of it we will continue along Camino dels Camps de Baix until we see a fork. There we will take the path to the right that in a little less than a kilometer will take us to Mas del Sord, which you will recognise because it has been converted into an equestrian centre.
From here we must be careful not to take the wrong road, as there are many detours.
Just after leaving the last building of the farmhouse we will find a crossroads and we must take the path to the right, but only for a short time because a few metres further on we must take the path to the right again (less well trodden than the one we came from).
Shortly after, at the next crossroads we must continue straight on and, to make sure we are on the right path, some 150 metres further on we should see a fence with cypress trees and a building.
Making several turns, we will go round the fence until we reach a compacted dirt track, where we will continue to the right. Without turning off, we will continue along this track for about 500 metres until you reach an asphalted road.
Here we will turn left and pass by the buildings that once belonged to the disappeared Priorat de Sant Nicolau (now Mas Pagés) and on our right we will see a small chapel in the garden of a private house.
We will continue along the road until we reach a fork where we will turn right passing in front of the entrance gate to a large farm and shortly afterwards the asphalt disappears.
There we will see a crossroads and we must continue straight on and after 100 metres it will be clear that although we are on a track without asphalt we are on the so-called Sant Miquel de Terrades road.
From here we can't get lost and in 1.2 km we will reach Calabuig (a village in the municipality of Báscara).
When you reach the GI-622 road, we will turn left and cross it to go up to the parish church of Sant Feliu, rebuilt after the earthquakes of 1427-28 and annexed to the castle of Calabuig.
We will descend along Nou street until we reach the GI-622 road again, which we will cross and take a little-marked path just ahead (on the right).
This is the old path leading to Bàscara, now little used because it was crossed with the construction of the AP-7 motorway, an infrastructure that makes the entrance to the village unpleasant, as it makes it necessary to go round it for a while listening to the noise of the vehicles that travel along it.
Shortly after, when we will reach the GI-622 road, we will turn left and cross over the AP-7 motorway.
Then we will go down the road. To avoid as much as possible the other road infrastructure that crosses the village (the N-2 international road), we will turn right through the tree-lined square of Can Baster.
When we reach the end, we will turn left along Carrer de Rabal Bordeta and Carrer del Torrent until you reach the N-II, which we will cross carefully at the pedestrian crossing, and then head towards the church of Sant Iscle and Santa Victoria, the end of this stage.
Annex to leave VERGES
Those who leave Verges and want to join the route in Pins will leave from in front of the church along the main street until they cross the GI-634 road.
We will continue along the road in front (Verges road), which shortly after becomes a dirt track.
We will follow this track for 6.2 kilometres until we reach the village of Les Olives.
We will enter through Mig street passing under some arches.
When you reach the GIV-6311 road, we will turn left, follow it for 700 metres and when we reach a bend, we will take the dirt track that continues straight ahead. Passing through fields and pine groves, after 1.8 kilometres we will reach Vilopriu.
After passing in front of the monumental building of the town hall and the church of Sant Pere, we will leave the village on the other side, taking a dirt track that we follow for 1.4 kilometres, ignoring any detour until we reach an asphalted road, where we will turn left. After a few metres we will have reached the village of Pins.
ACCOMMODATION AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION STAGE 14
GAÜSES - VILOPRIU
The village of Gaüses is very small and belongs to the municipality of Vilopriu, which is also small and has only a few places to stay and very few services. You can visit its website here:
CAMALLERA AND SAUS
Camallera is larger than Saus and both belong to the same municipality, which has some accommodation, restaurants and other services. You can visit their website here:
VILAÜR
The village of Vilaür is very small but it has some rural tourism establishments where you can stay. You can visit their website here:
CALABUIG
Hotel Restaurant Les Roques (972 56 02 51) Avinguda de l'Empordà, 27.
BÀSCARA
It is not a very big village but it has a few places to stay, restaurants and other services. You can visit their website here:
