STAGE 13
LA BISBAL - COLOMERS (VERGES)
- Distance: 22.2 km
- Difficulty level: EASY
- Maximum altitude: 97
- Minimum altitude: 19
- height gain: 367
- height loss: 376
Stage 13: LA BISBAL - COLOMERS (VERGES)
We will leave La Bisbal bordering the Daró river along Agustí Font street and then we will turn right onto Mas Clara street and we will go up Canigó street until at the highest point we turn left onto Montseny street.
We will follow this street until the asphalting is finished and at the fork in the road, take the dirt road on the left that passes next to the houses.
After a short while, we will leave the Camp del Rei campsite on our right (we will recognise it by the fence).).
After a bend at a crossroads, we will take the path on the right that will take us straight to the Castell d'Empordà road, after passing by some olive trees and an oratory.
We will enter through the hotel car park to visit the Remei church, next to the castle building.
We will then go in search of the Carrer de Baix (the small central street of this old village, now part of La Bisbal), which is not easy to find as the hotel facilities hide it a little.
At the end of the street, cyclists must be careful, as the access is abruptly interrupted and there are 6 steps down a flight of stairs.
We will go down the small path and when we reach the end we must suddenly turn right onto the dirt track that leads to Mas Figueró and just behind the building turn left in the direction of the Daró river.
The other option for those who cycle is to go down through the Castell d'Empordà neighbourhood and when you reach Mas Figueró turn around the building and follow the path that leads to the river Daró.
We will cross the river (normally dry) and when we go up the other side we will turn right, taking the path that runs along the upper part (leaving the riverbed on our right).
One kilometre later we will cross the bed of the river Rissec (a tributary of the Daró).
Shortly after, at a fork in the road (next to some chicken pens), we will take the path on the left that will take us straight to Casavells (the last stretch of the road is asphalted).
We will enter the village along Camí del Plà street and continue along Sant Josep street and in Santa Llucia street we will turn left and continue along Mas Pujol street, and when we reach the C-252 road we will cross it and take the dirt road we will see in front of us (Camí de les Mercaderes).
At a fork that we will see after 200 metres we will continue to the right and after 5.5 kilometres we will see the characteristic bell tower of the church of the village of Parlavà and after 5.5 kilometres we will enter its first streets.
We will enter via Carrer de la Bassa and we will continue along Carrer de la Mosca (leaving the church of Sant Feliu on your right) and then we will turn left into Carrer de Sant Feliu (parallel to the GI-642).
When you reach the roundabout, we will turn left and a few metres further on turn right onto the old Rupià road.
In just over a kilometre we will enter the village of Rupià along the Les Acàcies promenade that runs alongside the stream.
After visiting the village, we will take the road that starts next to the cemetery (crossing the GI-642).
To our left we will see a small promontory just over 100 metres high. This is Puig Montori, where there is thought to have been a settlement Indiketa.
After 2 kilometres we will come to a crossroads on the right, but we must continue straight on, passing close to the church of Santa María de la Sala, which we will see on our right.
We will continue straight on until we reach a bend in the GIV-6421 road and there we will take the dirt track on our left.
After 600 metres we will cross the Llisquet stream and, taking a little detour, we gradually approach Foixà Castle.
The castle cannot be visited (although there is a passage through the only street that forms the nucleus) so we will take the Camí Ral street.
A few metres further on we will see the cross erected in memory of Joan I, the Catalan king who died in this area in 1396, in suspicious circumstances during a hunt.
We will follow the path that will take us past the town hall. As we will see, the village of Foixà is very scattered and it is tiring to walk through on foot.
We will go up the street in front of the town hall (Carrer de Cuells) where we can visit the church of Sant Joan and then we will go down Carrer de Francesc Massanes.
We will then pass by numerous buildings and farmhouses (most of which have now been converted into summer residences), always following the signs towards Sant Romà de Sidillà.
Note: For those on foot, this first couple of kilometres can be a bit of a drag, as a large section of the path has now been asphalted and has lost its former uniqueness.
Once we have recovered the dirt road, we will go downhill towards Sant Romà de Sidillà, a pre-Romanesque church built between the 7th and 8th centuries that formed part of the town, which disappeared under the sand that the north wind was blowing in the Middle Ages.
As Alexandre Deulofeu says in his book The Empordà, cradle of Romanesque art, the church of this ancient village, as well as seven other churches that can be seen along the route of the Indiketes Route, are clear proof that Romanesque architecture was born in this area.
These temples, among other details, are characterised by:
a) All have documented stone vaults.
b) The apses are usually trapezoidal with vaulting or semicircular, surmounted by a horseshoe-shaped quarter-sphere vault.
c) The arches are typically Visigothic with forward uprights.
d) The raised transept is typical of the style, characterised by having the same length as the chancel, with the axis of the nave perpendicular to the axes of the apse and even longer than the chancel.
(e) Windows are single-pour.
Thus, we have at least 20 churches in this area that are almost Romanesque, and this in the 7th and 10th century, which is not the case in any other area of the world.
After visiting these ruins, there will only be about 900 meters left to cross the River Ter by a metal bridge and follow the so-called Camí del Riu until you reach the church of Santa María de Colomers, the end of this stage.
annex until reaching Verges
To get to the town of Verges we will leave the church square and we will go to Cervantes street and then we will turn left onto Oriente street and we will continue along the unpaved road, without paying attention to any detour and at 2, 5 kilometers we will arrive at Jafre.
We will enter through the main street and after seeing the church of Sant Martin we will continue along Carrer de la Creu and when we reach the end, we will cross the GI-634 road with great caution and take the dirt track that we will see in front of us.
There is no danger of getting lost, we will continue along this path for 1.1 kilometres until you reach a turn-off next to a large tree, where we will turn left, with a view of the village and the silhouette of Montgrí castle in front of us.
accommodation and practical information stage 13
CASTELL D'EMPORDÀ
Hotel Castell d'Empordà (972 64 62 54). Room 160€.
CASAVELLS
Hotel Encís d'Empordà (646 09 80 09) Carrer de Sant Genís, 13. Room 150€.
PARLAVÀ
The village of Parlavà is small but has some accommodation and other services. You can visit its website here:
RUPIÀ
Bar Social de Rupià (615 84 39 79) Plaça Avall, 1. Menu 12€.
FOIXÀ
The village of Foixà is small and has few services. Here you can visit its website:
COLOMERS
The village of Colomers is small and has few services. Here you can visit its website:
JAFRE
The village of Jafre is small and has few services. Here you can visit its website:
VERGES
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:
