Bellcaire to Santa Caterina Route

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Ethnological heritage in the Santa Caterina Valley

The route starts by the Church of Sant Joan de Bellcaire and straight away heads through the Plaça dels Comtes d’Empúries where Bellcaire Castle is located. The route goes past an old mill and a reservoir before leaving the streets of the village and heading along flat rocky paths, which skirt fields of cereals and olive trees on the way to the Montgrí Massif.

The route dives into a Mediterranean landscape where kermes oak, Montpellier cistus and spiny broom predominate, along with some Aleppo pines and holm oaks. The kermes oak and cistus vegetation is encouraged by the fires that have recently happened in the area as well as the abandonment of old crops established on dry-stone terraces. Throughout this route, you will see dry-stone huts and various lime furnaces such as, for example, the Forn de Santa Caterina, at the end of the valley of the same name. This is a good chance to enjoy the excellent view of the interior of the Montgrí Massif, with the Castle of Montgrí in the background and Puig Rodó to your right. As for the vegetation, grey-leaved cistus gradually takes over from Montpellier cistus and other species like mastic appear.

You join the trail from Coll de Santa Caterina, with stretches of well-preserved paving, until you come to the Hermitage of Santa Caterina, a key part of the heritage of the Montgrí. Next, the route climbs to the Puig de Carroig, from where you can see all of the mountain range, much of the Empordà, the Gulf of Roses and, on a clear day, the Pyrenees.

Finally, you follow the ridge, where garrigue with cistuses increases the diversity. On the way back you can easily see how humankind has adapted to the environment and has made the most of its resources, clearly differentiated between the fertile plain and the hard and dry mountains.