Vilafreser – Espinavessa – Besalu – Vilafreser
Catalonia medieval
12-16 Feb, 4-8 Mar, 15-19 Apr, 29 Apr-3 May, 27-31 May, 17-21 June, 2-6 Sep, 23-27 Sep, 28 Oct-1 Nov
Catalonia medieval
“Short break to discover the Catalan landscape, history and culture.”
“5 days / 4 nights – 4/5 hours x 3 days riding”
Three full days riding, for riders who want to enjoy their free time in nature, through the interior of Catalonia. It is a route through the fantastic landscape of the Empordà and Garrotxa region from Masia Can Grau. This beautiful region offers a rich medieval history, high variety of landscapes, charming villages, small medieval sites, paths along fields and crops to allow you to enjoy a perfect experience for unique and unforgettable days on horseback.
DAY 1 WELCOME TO MASIA CAN GRAU
You will arrive to Masia Can Grau, our guesthouse dedicated to equestrian tourism and located at 15mn form Girona town and the ideal place for a horse-riding start and an original way of discovering the region. On arrival day, you can enjoy a comforting convivial home cooked dinner and you will be told about the special characteristics of our Andalusian, Thoroughbred and Arabian crossed trail horses. You will be introduced the week´s program with an opportunity for a one-to-one conversation with the team, designed to find every rider their perfect horse.
DAY 2 VILADEMULS TO THE FLUVIA RIVER
We have a copious breakfast and, after a short briefing with the guide, we prepare our horses to leave Can Grau. We cross Vilafreser village and its medieval Sant Sadurní church, then a gentle ride through oak forest, accompanied by scents of thyme and rosemary. We continue through the beautiful area of Vilademuls, a large municipality made up of 12 small villages and numerous “masias”, testimony of the traditional Catalan rural life. The most antic documental citation in 922 about Vilademuls describes that its name comes from the settlement of a farmhouse dedicated of the breeding of mules, the hybrids of horse and mule or of the donkey and mare. Every hour we pass another beautiful village with church, arches, tunnels, old wooden doors with wrought iron knockers. We will have our daily picnic and then, we will enjoy again nice trots and canters through Mediterranean forests to the hotel Masía La Palma, another ancient farmhouse transformed in a comfortable country house. After settling our horses in the paddocks that await them there, we enjoy a rest at the swimming pool or in the gardens before a delicious dinner.
DAY 3 TO BESALU MEDIEVAL VILLAGE
After an excellent breakfast, we leave up to the Fluvia River into the forest and over the rolling hills around. We ride through typical Mediterranean brush wood vegetation, thick with bushes and calcareous soil. This is a rocky area with old buildings of traditional rural architecture like shelters for herders and small stone walls. After our picnic we will enjoy amazing views on the way from the Sant Miquel de la Roca hermitage. It is accessed by a path from the village of Crespià, passing by the ragged church of Sant Bartomeu de Portell. This Gothic-style religious building, embedded in a rocky cliff formed by agglomerated rocks, is located at the top of the cliff, rising at a great height above the Fluvià River. In the far distance we can make out the medieval village of Besalú. It is a jewel of a Romanesque city, with its bridge over the two rivers and Jewish past, with its old neighborhood almost intact. Our destination is the nice hotel Jardins de la Martana, located in front of the famous medieval bridge. Crossing it by foot, we will find our restaurant for dinner and enjoy the special ambiance of this village.
DAY 4 THROUGH THE EMPORDÁ REGION
For our last day riding, we leave Besalú and the unique atmosphere of this ancient medieval village where the squares, stone cut pillars and cool shady arched passageways are a wonder to be hold. The peaks of the Alta Garrotxa are all around us. The air is poignant with the smell of wild herbs and Mediterranean fragrances. The ride is upbeat. The strong crossed Andalusian horses are still full of strength. Their trots are long and rhythmic along the small climbing paths between country cottages with amazing views of the Pyrenees. Back to Vilafreser, we will head towards the hermitage of Ollers, where we have our picnic. Now it becomes a bit hillier and passing through Sant Mer and Les Serres we arrive back at Can Grau again. On the way we can appreciate in the distance the Vilafreser tower, an 18-metre-high medieval Catalan defense tower that housed the noble family of Vilafreser in the 13th century.
DAY 5 ADIÓS AMIGOS
Breakfast and departure…. See you next year!
Accommodation
Masia Can Grau www.masiacangrau.com
Hotel Masia La Palma www.masialapalma.com
Hotel La Martana www.lamartana.com
NOTE: Similar accommodation in case of unavailability . The itinerary can be modified in case of incidents due to climate change (high temperatures, fire, dryness, etc…).