Itinerary 4: Fountains and forts of Ribes de Freser

Introduction

Ribes de Freser landscape and heritage

This entertaining and varied route will accompany us to discover part of the natural, scenic and cultural heritage closest to the town of Ribes de Freser. A good aperitif to discover the wonders of the Parc Natural de les Capçaleres del Ter and Freser.

Along the route, we will visit the Sant Pere Castle, the Margarideta and Santa Caterineta fountains, we will walk through deciduous forests and meadows. We will also meet some forts of the defensive line of the Pyrenees built by Franco, the history of the Golluts de Ribes and the geological singularity of the granoferh of Ribes.

We recommend the Local Natura App to do this route. Download it for free here:

Typology

Time Circular
Difficulty

Easy
Duration

1 hour 55 minutes
Slope

275.00 meters

Distance

4.40 km
Theme

Flora and fauna

Environment

Architecture and environment
Activity

By foot
Rating

Slope graph

Description

Ribes de Freser landscape and heritage

We leave the Ribes Vila station, and to warm up we will visit the Sant Pere Castle. Once we visit the castle, we will head to the Margarideta pass, very fresh and gloomy, where we will stop at the Margarideta fountain, and later at the fountain of the Caterineta.

We leave the fountain of Caterina and start climbing along a well-marked path, accompanied by a varied forest dominated by oak, and sprinkled with specimens of ash, quince, lime and hazel.

We will arrive at a landing where we can recover breath before approaching the steepest part of the route. We are gaining height surrounded by a red pine forest, and when the slope looses, we can see some of the ancient forts of the Pyrenean defense line.

We are now on the Manter's hill and begin the descent for a comfortable and wide track. We walk now between grassland, small woods and isolated trees.

We are losing height and we go to the neighborhood of La Massana, where we will change the direction and we will return to the town of Ribes de Freser. We will take the opportunity to get to know the history of the Golluts de Ribes and the uniqueness of the Granófir de Ribes.

Now we will only be able to comfortably return to the starting point following the Passeig de la Margarideta again.