This 16km circular hiking route in Montseny natural park starts and ends in Viladrau, a small town in the North of the Natural Park.
The route leaves the town via a trail through forest and crosses the Riera Mayor (river) several times via stone bridges before heading up into the mountains. On the way the trail passes Mas Moulins rural hostel and Can Bosc farmhouse.
The first way point of interest is Ermita de l'Erola, a stone hermitage in a woodland clearing. From here the path heads upwards through chestnut trees via a stone shrine called Oratori de Sant Camil de Lel-lis. The trail is via woodland and is a gradual climb up a valley with several viewpoints and beautiful Riera de l'oratori river crossings with waterfalls.
The path emerges onto a rural gravel road called Cami de Sant Segimon, turning left towards to Sant Segimon restaurant and abandoned monastery. At this point we are about half way around the route. Time permitting, it is possible to eat in the restaurant.
Sant Segimon is an absolute gem of a building and ruin that can be best viewed from Sant Miquel dels Barretons chapel. The path to Sant Miquel can be found at the three cross marker. This is a short uphill path to the Sant Miquel viewpoint.
The downward section of this trail takes a path going down at the three crosses marker. The trail is through a beautiful part of the forest parallel to the Torrent de Rentadors (river) descending gradually down the valley. The route crosses the river at multiple points and passes via Gorg negre waterfall.
The trail emerges from the valley and joins the path we took to ascend to Sant Segimon. We backtrack along this path to Viladrau.
The best time of the year to do this trail is during the The Fair of the Viladrau Chestnut, La Castanyada de Viladrau.
Ermita de la Mare de Deu de l'Erola was a mixed use building being inhabited by Farmers until 1956 and also containing a chapel. At the entrance, the floor is made of river stones and there is a cross that according to legend is the place where they found the Virgin Mary. The date 1664 appears on the window sill, 1689 on the wooden beam and 1641 on the lintel of the house door. The Erola house has been dated to 1582 by documents and was built as a residence for the hermits of Sant Segimon, they lived there from November 1st to April 1st when the cold made life too difficult in the Sanctuary. The current chapel dates from 1630 (after a fire destroyed the previous one) and was completed between 1641 and 1659.
Sant Segimon Sanctuary dates from the 13th Century (documentation from 1290) when a chapel was built using a cave and took the name of Segimon which is the Catalan for King Sigismund of Burgundy who was supposedly a hermit at the cave between 516AD and 520AD. According to legend, construction of the sanctuary began centuries later when a pastor found wooden crosses buried in the caves. The Sanctuary was burned in 1810 by the French troops under the orders of General Saint-Cyr and was restored by the citizens of the surrounding towns and villages. In 1837 the Sanctuary became the property of the owner of Can Gad (farm). The sanctuary and shelter were subjected to destruction during the Civil War and are currently under restoration.
Sant Miquel dels Barretons chapel was probably built in the 16th century by the hermit Miquel, from Burgundy, attracted by the legend of Segimon, who gave it the name Sant Miquel. According to legend, the name Barretons comes from the legend that the Romans in the chapel improved their headaches when they left their hat in the chapel as an offering.
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La Castanyada is a traditional Catalan festival normally celebrated on 1st November, All Saint's Day. People eat roasted chestnuts called Castanyes and panellets (a Catalan sweet made of small balls of almond paste coated in pine nuts) and roasted sweet potatoes. During a Castanyada, the streets fill with vendors with charcoal and wood barbecues.
The Castanyada is a festival that marks the end of warm weather and the onset of colder autumn and winter weather.
Until the middle of the twentieth century the Viladrau chestnut harvested in the Motseny natural park around the village was the most valued of the chestnuts from Catalunya. The street vendors in Barcelona only wanted to toast Viladrau chestnuts.
Since 1995 the Viladrau Castanyada (Chestnut fair) has taken place over a weekend in Viladrau.
This year, La Castanyada de Viladrau is on the weekend of 28th to 29th of October 2023.
The Montseny Valldrau to Sant Seigimon via waterfalls hiking route takes about 6 to 8 hours to complete which leaves little time to visit the Castanyada fair.
However, doing this as a weekend activity hiking on Saturday and spending the night in the village to visit the fair on Sunday is a more complete weekend.
The Hotel Bofill was built on commission from Ramón Bofill y Galles (1958-1931). Doctor Ramon Bofill was one of the first dentists in Spain along with Doctor Aguilar from Madrid. The hotel was built for the Catalan bourgeoisie as a luxury rural escape from Barcelona. Today is is a 15 room hostel with restaurant.
This is a medium walking route in the Montseny mountains. I always do it with a small rucksack of the essentials and first aid kit. Emergency waterproof jacket is recommended.
Take 2 litres of water. Additional water can be found in the natural springs along the route.
Pack a spare pair of socks in case that you get your feet wet while crossing one of the rivers.
Address: Parc Natural del Montseny, La posada Sant Segimon, Viladrau. 17406
Take a Renfe Rodalies R3 train from Barcelona to Balrenya-Tona-Selva station. Here change onto a Sagales route 436 bus to Viladrau. The hiking route is circular from Viladrau. Note that the Sagales 436 bus only runs on weekends.
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16 Km circular hiking route to Sant Segimon Monastery Restaurant via forest trails and waterfalls. Famous for the Viladrau Chestnut fair.
Distance: 15.88 Km
Difficulty: Moderate
Return Travel Fare: €10.80
Transport Network: Rodalies + Bus
