I had read about the Montserrat Monastery even before my trip to Andorra. However, I wasn’t sure I could be bothered stopping there. Until I saw the actual mountains while relaxing at Hotel Mon Sant Benet. They looked so dramatic, rising seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of an otherwise flat landscape. I had to go and have a close-up look. So, off I went, hiking to the Montserrat Monastery. But where do I start?
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Hiking to the Montserrat Monastery
As usual, I did a lot of online research to find the best hiking route for me. After all, I wanted a path that would give me a proper hike. It needed to be challenging and long enough but without climbing up steep rocks. It wasn’t easy to find much information about where to begin hiking to the Montserrat Monastery. The green train and the yellow Aeri gondola seemed to be the most popular ways to get up to the Montserrat Monastery. And that certainly wasn’t an option for me.
Although, you can take the train up and then walk around the Monastery on well-paved routes. But that wasn’t challenging enough for me. Hiking to the Montserrat Monastery was much more the experience I wanted.
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The Perfect Trail
Eventually, I found a trail that looked promising for hiking to the Montserrat Monastery. Not knowing how long or high it would be, I decided to simply drive to the starting point. Then I checked the map at the trailhead. I aimed for a marked parking spot on google maps along the BP-1121 road, just next to the town Monistrol de Montserrat. It seemed like the perfect start.
At the beginning, I just followed the path as it started climbing right away. Not knowing where to turn at times, I ended up following the people in front of me. Overall, the signage was pretty poor, I must say. For such a great hike, it should definitely be better marked. About halfway up, I finally started seeing markings on the rocks pointing toward the Monastery. Hiking to the Montserrat Monastery turned out to be quite an adventure. Even though, I believe I have found the perfect trail up.
From the beginning it kept going up and up. This didn’t bother me. It has been a while since I have done a hike like this, and it kind of reminded me of all the hikes in Altea that I did. After all, I was hiking to the Montserrat Monastery in Spain, and so the terrain felt quite similar.
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The Top
Like many hikes, once I reached the top, just one hour later (yes, I was quick!), I felt proud of my effort and ready to rest. But instead, I found myself surrounded by parked cars, buses, and crowds of tourists who had either driven up or taken the train. It was crazy! The Montserrat Monastery was also much bigger than I expected. And certainly busier. So, unfortunately, I didn’t stay very long.
It reminded me a bit of my hike to Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle’s Nest). Although this time I was hiking to the Montserrat Monastery.
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Not wanting to go back the same route, who knows if I would have found the car, I tried to find an alternative path. But there was no other path to be found. At least I couldn’t see any signage. So I decided to walk back along the road. The BP-1121. Even Google maps agreed with me.
The 7 km winding road might have been a detour, but my knees were thankful. I didn’t have to fight my way down a steep 600-meter descent. It was actually quite relaxing walking along the road. This route offered a different perspective of the Montserrat mountain range on the way back as well.
It was the perfect hike and the perfect day. What a natural beauty, just 50km away from Barcelona.
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The End
And so, after all the monasteries and mountains it was time to head to a bigger town again. The three hours drive to Valencia seemed long after hiking to the Montserrat Monastery, but the roads are easy to drive on in Spain. The mountains will have to rest. And my legs too! And I was looking forward to resting in Valencia. I really really like this vibrant and somehow quirky city!
(post 215)
