Barcelona · Montserrat and Priorat Long Sweep
A 346 km loop from Montserrat mountain road
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Why this ride
Sawtooth mountains, wine roads and a grown-up Catalan riding day. Out of Collbató and back again: 346 km, roughly 6 h 39 in the saddle. It goes by way of Cardona castle sight, Siurana cliff village and in Falset. Montserrat mountain road is the high point. It is a high-mountain day.
Roadbook
- Montserrat mountain road
pass
Collbató sits at the foot of Montserrat's southern flank, and the road from here to the monastery is one of the classic mountain rides of Catalonia. The village is small, with about three thousand people, and old enough that its streets feel more like a Mediterranean hill town than a suburb. Above it, the rock rises in a wall of towers and fingers, some of them with names that locals use to point them out.
The mountain is composed of conglomerate, a rock made of pebbles cemented together over millions of years, which weathers into rounded shapes that can look like faces or animals. Walkers and climbers know the area well, and Collbató has caves with stalactites that were known since medieval times. In the winter, mist often fills the valley, leaving the summits floating above the cloud.
The road is twisty, with hairpins and good views, and it is well surfaced because of the heavy tourist traffic. At the weekend it can feel crowded, and the best time to ride is on a weekday or early in the morning. The air is cool, the light is clear, and the road belongs to those who start early. Be wary of cyclists and tour buses on the narrower stretches, and take care on the hairpins, where gravel can collect.
Fuel is in the valley, not on the mountain. Esparreguera, the nearest large town, has more than twenty thousand people and plenty of stations, and Collbató has a few services. If you need food, the bakeries and bars in the village serve strong coffee and pastries, and the restaurants a bit further up the road offer traditional Catalan cooking, with plenty of grilled meat and vegetables. Local honey and cheese are sold near the monastery.
As the road climbs, the air changes, and the sounds of the valley fall away. The silence near the top is striking, broken only by bells and the hum of a distant engine. It is an ideal start for a day of riding, and one of the most memorable.
- Cardona castle sight
sight
Cardona castle looks down on a town built on salt. The fortress sits on a ridge above the Cardener river, a hilltop of towers and walls that dates back to the ninth century, and it served as the seat of the Dukes of Cardona, one of the most powerful noble families in medieval Catalonia. Today much of the castle has become a Parador hotel, and its Romanesque church of Sant Vicenç, consecrated in the eleventh century, is a gem of early Catalan architecture. The town below has about five thousand people and a quiet, cobbled centre.
The salt is the thing. Beside the town rises the Muntanya de Sal, a mountain of rock salt that has been mined for centuries, and a section of the mine is now a museum, where guides lead you underground through glittering tunnels. In the old days, salt was one of the sources of Cardona's wealth, and the colour of the mountain varies with the minerals, with streaks of red, grey and white after rain. Potash mining in nearby Súria shaped the area's economy in the twentieth century, and the landscape bears the marks.
The roads here are interesting. The route from Manresa winds through low hills, vineyards and forests, with gentle bends and good views, and it carries on toward Solsona and the Pre-Pyrenees. The surface is generally decent, but the narrow roads in the villages can be rough and gravelly. Traffic is light on weekdays, and weekends bring visitors to the castle. Summers are hot and dry, with wildfires a risk, and winters can be foggy. Spring is lovely, with green fields and blossom.
Practically, Cardona has fuel and small supermarkets, along with bars and restaurants serving Catalan food, including grilled meat, snails in season and local cheeses. The Parador has a restaurant with views over the valley. Parking near the castle is possible, though the final approach is steep and cobbled, so you may prefer to walk up from the town. Súria is the next large settlement, and Manresa, a bigger city, offers every service. Take a jacket for the cool underground mine.
- Siurana cliff village
photo
Siurana is the kind of place that makes you slow down on the approach. The village sits on top of a sheer cliff in the Priorat, above a reservoir, with a few stone houses and a Romanesque church crowded on a narrow rock. From the road, you see it from far off, a little crown of buildings above an abyss.
It has a legend, as such places do. The last Moorish stronghold in Catalonia, it fell to the Christians in 1153, and the story goes that the Moorish queen, Abdelazia, rode her horse off the cliff rather than surrender, leaving a hoofprint in the rock. Whether or not that happened, the cliff is real, and the view over the valley is huge. Siurana is also one of the best-known sport climbing destinations in the world, with pale limestone walls that draw climbers from many countries.
The road is the draw for riders. The approach from Cornudella climbs in a series of bends with wide views of the Montsant range, and the surface is narrow but decent. It is very quiet on weekdays, and the village has a few cafes that serve coffee and simple food. Parking is limited, and the final stretch is tight, so take care when meeting cars.
Alforja and Riudoms, the nearest towns, have stations, and you should fill before you climb. The terrain is dry, with rosemary, thyme and wild olive on the slopes, and in summer the heat can be fierce. Carry water, and go early or late for the best light.
In autumn, the vines in the valley turn red and gold, and the air smells of woodsmoke and ripe fruit. In spring, the almond trees flower. It is a fine place to sit with a coffee and watch the clouds move across the hills.
- Food stop in Falset
food
Somewhere to get off the bike, 260 km in.
- Back to Montserrat
finish
A mountain that has been eaten by a thousand tourist buses still manages to be impressive. The rock is conglomerate, a gravelly stone of ancient river deposits, which erodes into towers and needles, and which makes the mountain a favourite of rock climbers. The name means serrated mountain, and from the plain the outline looks like the teeth of a saw.
On the face of the cliff, a Benedictine monastery stands where monks first settled in the eleventh century. Pilgrims come to see La Moreneta, the dark-skinned wooden statue of the Virgin, and to hear the boys' choir, the Escolania, one of the oldest choirs in Europe. During periods of repression under Franco, the monastery quietly kept Catalan language and culture alive, which is why Catalans regard it with deep affection. Hermits' cells dot the hills, and walking paths lead to chapels and viewpoints.
The roads around the mountain are a pleasure to ride. From Monistrol, the climb to the monastery runs in long bends with wonderful views, and from Collbató a smaller road winds through pine forest on the south side. Surfaces are generally good, but the narrow stretches can have gravel, and the cliff edges have little protection. On weekends and in the holiday season, traffic is heavy, with tour buses and cars queuing on the access road. Fog and cloud sometimes cover the top, and the temperature drops, so layers are useful. Autumn and spring are best, when the air is clear and the light lights up the pinnacles.
For services, Collbató has fuel and a few bars, but Esparreguera, about seven kilometres away, has more shops and fuel stations. At the top, a cafeteria and a restaurant serve simple Catalan food, and a shop sells mató cheese with honey, a traditional dessert. Parking for motorbikes is separate from cars, which makes life easier. If you want a short walk, the path to the Sant Joan chapel gives a fine view. Allow extra time on Sundays.