The Montserrat Monastery to Sant Jeroni Summit hike is a circular 11.9Km EASY-MEDUIM route starting and finishing at Montserrat Monastery.
Sant Jeroni is the highest peak of the Montserrat mountain range in the Montserrat natural park, Catalonia. The route gives stunning panoramic views of the unique rock formations and is one of the most popular amongst hikers.
Allow 4 to 6 hours to complete this route.
For a more challenging route to the top of Montserrat mountain try Sant Jeroni from Colbató. The village of Colbató at the foot of the west side of the mountain and is a good hike for spring to enjoy a Calcotada in restaurant Vinyanova.
The route starts at Montserrat Monastery which can be visited quickly before starting the hike from Plaça de Abat where you will find a large drinking water fountain. This is the only place to find drinking water along the route so I highly recommend taking at least three litres of water.
Follow the steps behind the fountain up to a statue in an alcove and turn left crossing the bridge onto pas de francoeses. This path follows the Santa Maria River valley passing via concrete steps through a mountain cutting before getting to Santa Anna hermitage, a ruin with views looking down the valley towards the Montserrat monastery.
From Santa Anna the route follows a forestall trail called Cami vell de Sant Jeroni through the pla dels Ocells (plains of Ocells) gradually climbing up the Santa Anna River valley until it intersects with the Cami nou de Sant Jeroni. This is a well-used cement path that follows a dry river valley up to Ermita de Sant Jeroni, a small chapel. Walk a little behind the Sant Jeroni Chapel for a great ravine viewpoint.
From Sant Jeroni Chapel the trail continues up, passing a ruined church and Monument a Verdaguer viewpoint. It is worth walking up to the brick and cement viewpoint to enjoy more spectacular mountain views. Note at the ruined outline of the church there is a metal trapdoor that can be lifted up to reveal the basement of the church cut from the rock and still intact.
The final push to the top of Sant Jeroni comes now. Follow the concrete steps all the way up to the 360 degree panoramic summit viewpoint with the table sized marker at the highest point. Just to the left of the summit is a section of metal railing guarding a steep ravine and it is worth taking a look.
To return to the Monastery, Follow the same trail down passing Sant Jeroni chapel and take the same path down staying on the concrete trail. This time we follow the Cami nou de Sant Jeroni towards Sant Joan along a ridge of Montserrat with a couple of viewpoints, one looking down towards Colbató town and the other looking down towards the Monastery.
Along Cami Nou de Sant Jeroni, look out for a wooden marker post indicating a small right turn up a forestall trail that leads to some concrete stairs, saint Jacob's stairs. At the top of Sant Jacobs stairs look for a path to the right leading up to Santa Magdalena viewpoint passing via more hermitage ruins.
At Santa Magdalena viewpoint we again have spectacular views of the surrounding mountain range. Return to the path with the Sant Jacob's stairs turning right and following the trail halfway down more concrete stairs until you see a path leading along the cliff to the right with wooden railings. Take this path.
Now the route goes through what are Santa Onofre and Sant Joan hermitages ruins built on the side of a cliff face. At the end of the hermitage ruins the path takes steps down to a concrete and gravel trail path passing via Capella de Sant Joan a small chapel. Continue following the cement and gravel rural road leading gradually down to Sant Joan Funicular superior station. Along this section of the trail on the right are popular spots for beginner level climbing.
Once at Sant Joan funicular upper station, it is worth going inside to the upper floor which has an outside patio viewpoint. Also there is a vending machine that sells drinks and snacks.
From Sant Joan funicular the trail continues into Cami de las hermitages via a gravel and concrete rural road. Follow the rural road up the small incline followed by a gradual decline down to Sant Miquel chapel. Note that to the right of the gravel road there is a footpath that goes along the top of the ridge and gives great views down the mountain towards Colbató. You can take this path rather than the gravel road.
At Capella de Sant Miquel the trail continues on down the mountain. A little past the chapel there is a narrow track of about 100 metres on the right that leads to the Creu de Sant Miquel Iron cross monument which has spectacular views of the monastery complex. This is an unmissable part of the route and I advise not to skip it even if you are tired.
Return to the main trail and continue following it down via various monuments back to the monastery.
The trails are well marked although there is a possibility of taking a wrong turn in a few areas so I recommend following the Wikiloc hiking trail map that you can find bellow.
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It is extremely dry in Montserrat mountain range, the rivers only fill up with water briefly after a heavy rain storm.
Do not throw cigarettes on the ground. it is prohibited to start fires i.e. for cooking or other purposes.
Take plenty of water, minimum 3 litres and use sun cream.
leaving the main square by the descending ramped street with the orange trees goes down through a gate into Plaza Abat Oliba where you will find Queviures supermarket that sells sandwiches, drinks, and food gifts like honey. Opposite is another cafeteria.
In Plaza Abat Oliba there is also a drinking water fountain.
Opposite the Cremallera Station is the Montserrat Buffet Restaurant. This is a cafeteria style restaurant that offers meals of traditional Catalan food as well as sandwiches, cakes and drinks.
This is a MEDUIM-EASY walking route and is predominantly an uphill walk to the summit. I always do it with a small rucksack of the essentials including first aid kit. Emergency waterproof jacket is optional depending on the weather forecast.
Take 2 to 3 litres of water because there is nowhere to top up a water bottle along the route. I like to wear ankle boots because some of the paths are rocky and uneven.
Discover Montserrat from the sky with a unique view of the mountain using the Aeri Cable car to visit the Benedictine Abbey of Santa María de Montserrat and its famous statue of the Virgin of Montserrat.
Return and one way tickets available.
Note: This ticket is for the cable car only so a separate ticket for the FGC to Aeri de Montserrat needs to be purchased.
Address: Monestir de Montserrat, Monestir de Montserrat. 08199
I recommend the Trans Montserrat ticket using the Cremallera to ascend to Montserrat Monastery. Alternatively the Aeri de Montserrat Cable car can also be used. For a comparison of the different Montserrat tickets available visit the Montserrat day trip prices section.
An EASY-MEDUIM circular route Montserrat Monastery to Sant jeroni Sumit viewpoint via Santa Anna, Sant Jerioni, Santa Magdalena, Sant Joan and Sant Miquel hermitages.
Distance: 11.9 Km
Difficulty: Moderate
Return Travel Fare: €24.00
Transport Network: FGC & Cremallera
Mountain Forecast weather for Montserrat Mountain
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