STAGE 6
TORROELLA DE MONTGRÍ - PERATALLADA
- Distance: 27.2 km
- Difficulty level: Normal
- Maximum altitude: 96
- Minimum altitude: 5
- height gain: 378
- height loss: 374
Stage 6: TORROELLA DE MONTGRÍ - PERATALLADA
We will leave Torroella de Montgrí along Passeig de Catalunya towards the bridge that crosses the river Ter.
Just after crossing the bridge, we will turn right onto the GR-92, also signposted by Pirinexus. The path by the river runs alongside the Gualta Pitch & Putt Golf Course. After a short while, the path turns away from the Ter and skirts the Daró river channel.
Before the road passes under the GI-643 it is necessary to cross to the other side of the canal.
To do this, go up to the road, walk carefully for about 200 metres and then take the path on the other side. From here we will only have 1/2 kilometer left to cross the beautiful stone bridge of Gualta.
This medieval bridge with 5 unequal arches dates from the 16th century. A battle against Napoleon's forces took place in 1809 and there is an artificial stone monolith that commemorates it.
Following the red and white signs of the GR-92 we will enter the main street (carrer Major) we will pass next to the church of Santa María and we will see the irrigation ditch where an old medieval mill once stood.
A little further on, we will turn off to the right along Carrer de Les Oliveres, and we will continue along the GR-92 towards Puig de Font Pasquala, where we can enjoy the beautiful views of the Empordà plain.
On the way down we will leave the GR-92 and take the first path on the right. After a short while, turn left at the next turning.
Further on, at the next 4-way junction (although we see the village very close by) we will continue straight on, apparently moving away from it.
But then, after about 30 metres, we will take the path on the right that will lead us directly to the village of Llabià (municipally attached to Fontanilles).
We will go up one of its streets (carrer major) and at every step we will see original sculptures made of rusted iron and recycled materials, donated by the sculptor Josep Coll, a native of the same village and resident of Can Pau de Llabià, now a rural tourist establishment.
We will cross the pretty village and as we descend we will take the road to the right, and when the view opens out onto the fields, we will see a solitary house in the distance with a whitish hue (Mas de la Bomba), the place where we will go. To do this we will take the first path that we see on the left.
Curiosity: Due to the periodic flooding of the lake of Ullastret in 1850, a syndicate was formed between several landowners and it was agreed to build a kind of earthen dam (mota) and a building to house the numerous pumps used to extract the water, the origin of what is now known as Mas de la Bomba.
We will pass behind the house and continue above the artificial elevation of the groundand further on, as the path turns to the left, we will see the the hill of Sant Andreu in the distance.
This is the site of the Iberian settlement of Ullastret, which is believed to have been the ancient city of the indiketes call "Indika".
It was located next to a lake and consisted of two settlements, the main settlement in the so-called puig city of Sant Andreu and the other on a nearby island located in the middle of this lagoon, the illa d'En Reixac.
It is the largest Iberian site in Catalonia. Prehistoric remains have been found, but the first stable settlement has been dated to the 7th century BC.
The last major modification of the fortification was in the 3rd century BC, coinciding with the Second Punic War, when the Romans, in order to cut off the supply route of Hannibal, who wanted to reach Rome, landed in the not too distant Empúries and block the way to the Carthaginian rearguard.
But after their victory, the Romans did not leave the Empordà and began to collect tribute from the pacifists indiketes.
In 195 BC the indiketes rebelled and the Romans sent Marcus Porcius Cato, the Elder, to quell the uprising and pacify the area, ordering, among other things, the razing to the ground of the town's defence towers.
After the visit to the museum, we will take the dirt road just outside the car park.
This is the so-called Camí d'Empuries, a thousand-year-old path used by the indiketes, the Greeks and the Romans that will take us to the junction with the road that leads to Palau Sator.
There we will turn right and going up we will enter the town of Ullastret through carrer de l'Hospital.
We will pass by the external part of the medieval walls and we will turn to the right along the street called Camí Vell to Castell de l'Empordà, passing under a stone arch.
This path is currently asphalted and after 500 metres, when we reach a crossroads, we will continue straight on for another kilometre and a half.
We will then leave this tarmac track and take the dirt road that continues straight on.
About 700 metres further on, when you reach a crossroads with 4 paths, we will take the one on the left, which shortly after passes next to a farmhouse, which we will leave on our right.
We will continue along this path passing by the numerous sheds of a farm and when we reach a crossroads we will turn right, taking the road that runs parallel to the GI-644 and leads to the roundabout at the entrance to the village of Canapost.
We will go to the church square of Sant Esteve and Sant Clet where, just behind it, we can visit the medieval necropolis discovered in 2005 with tombs from the 10th to 15th centuries, some of whose burials were made with monolithic stone sarcophagi.
We will leave the town by the so-called Camí Antic de Canapost that runs parallel to the GI-644 road and after 1.5 kilometers, when we reach a fork, we will take the path to the left that passes next to an olive grove with a triangular shape.
And at the next detour, in front of a house, we will turn left again, taking the path that in 1 kilometer will take us to the Clots de Sant Julià.
These are old quarries that are supposed to predate the arrival of the Romans. One theory presupposes that a good part of the blocks of the wall of the indiketa city of Indika (the Iberian town of Ullastret) were extracted from here.
Unfortunately, no thorough excavation has been carried out to confirm its antiquity and there are no signs to visit the complex.
In the upper part of the enclosure we can see the so-called Queen's Throne, a strange excavated stone in the shape of a throne on one side and a cave on the other side.
On the left side of this seat is a flat surface about a metre long, which is said to have been intended for sacrifices, as there is a U-shaped channel that could have been used to collect blood.
Many rocks with engraved inscultures can also be found in the enclosure and several prehistoric monuments can be visited nearby.
We will leave the complex by returning 200 metres along the path we came from and when we reach the crossroads we will turn right onto the GR-92, which follows the millenary Camí d'Empuries, In whose path the wheels of the carts that traveled it have been taxed.
When you reach the crossroads of 4 paths, we will leave this part of the GR-92 and continue straight on.
From here we must be careful not to get lost in the labyrinth of paths leading to various farms.
We must take the path that leads to Puig d'en Torró and then join the GR-92, entering Peratallada next to a car park.
The village was declared a Historic-Artistic Site for being one of the most important and best-preserved nuclei of medieval architecture in Catalonia.
Peratallada does not currently have its own town council as it belongs to the neighbouring municipality of Forallac, which also joins the municipalities of Fonteta and Vulpellac.
It is worth visiting the curious church of Sant Esteve which is located outside the urban area.
In this village, probably in the area where the castle-palace now stands, there was a settlement Indiketa. Remains have been found of rooms dug into the rock, cisterns, pipes, silos, etc., which suggest a very ancient origin.
The name Peratallada comes from "carved stone", which can be seen both in its defensive walls and in the castle, the moat and even in its streets, which were built on the stone, which had to be worked in depth, not without difficulty.
ACCOMMODATION AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION STAGE 6
GUALTA
It is a small town but it has some establishment to stay, restaurant and other services. Here you can visit their website:
LLABIÀ
Rural House Can Pau de Llabià (630 15 83 12) Carrer Major- From 55€.
ULLASTRET
It is not a very large town but it has some places to stay, restaurants and other services. Here you can visit their website:
PERATALDA
As it is an eminently tourist town, it has various establishments for accommodation, restaurants and other services. You can visit its website here:
https://www.visitperatallada.cat/es/
Note: Peratallada does not have its own town council as it belongs to the municipality of Forallac.
