The Oliba trail  is a waymarked long-distance footpath that takes you through the counties of El Bages, Osona and El Ripollès with the common thread of this extraordinary man called Oliba who was a count and then first Abbot and then Bishop in the 13th century.

Of all the different tendencies and styles of art and architecture to the present day, the most widespread, without a doubt, is the Romanesque style. The counties of El Bages, Osona and El Ripollès are trustworthy witnesses to this vast heritage.  Most of the villages and towns along the way have a church or building in this style. Romanesque art is therefore what unites and gives sense to this initiative.

Romanesque art is the integrating factor of Central Catalonia and gives shape both to the historic strive to repopulate and present need of rebalancing the landscape, as well as the added appreciation of what this land has to offer: its food, traditions and the resulting hospitality services and establishments that welcome the hiker to inside Catalonia.

El Camí Oliba is an authentic museum in the nature. It is art, culture and history in its essence and it offers beautiful natural landscapes as well as charming towns and cities with a rich heritage.

The path

Different options

The trail is designed to accommodate walkers of all abilities. For this reason it forks into two routes, one easier and one more challenging alternative way.  The main trail goes through populated areas with shorter daily stretches, and there are more services at hand. Further along the way, this secondary footpath branches off this main route offering the hiker a choice of a physically more demanding path that goes through an area of outstanding beauty and rejoins the main route further north.

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Stretch 1

STAGE 1: MONTSERRAT – MANRESA – VIC

86 km / 1791 m positive /2.051 m negative / 3 days

This part of the trail coincides with the Saint James’ (Ruta de Sant Jaume) trail and is divided into five stretches that each take a morning to walk. It starts in Manresa and a complementary path forks off taking the hiker into the middle of the town to the Seat of Manresa. The path brings you back to the main trail and carries on towards Navarcles cutting across the vineyards of the Plain of Bages and through the municipalities of Artés and L’Estany. The fifth stretch finishes up in Vic, a town with a clear-cut medieval structure that boasts various architectural buildings that bear witness to its historic past and importance.

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Stretch 2

VIC – RIPOLL – SANT JOAN DE LES ABADESSES

16 km / 5,011 m positive / negative 4,701 m / 5 days

This is the longest and most challenging stretch of the Oliba trail. It is divided into 10 half-day stretches. It goes through the beautiful village of Folgueroles, where the poet Verdaguer was born and brought up, and takes you near the outstanding Sant Pere de Casserres monastery (Saint Peter). It goes past the monasteries of Santa Maria de Ripoll and Sant Joan de les Abadesses winding through the foothills with some serious ascents and descents giving the hiker worthwhile breathtaking views of the areas of outstanding natural beauty such as  Collsacabra, the Montseny range, the Sau reservoir, the Guilleries (literally ‘The Fox lands’), the cliffs of Tavertet, the Castle of Montesquiu, and the list goes on.

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Stretch 3

SANT JOAN DE LES ABADESSES – LES BASSES DE PUIG SEC

39.5 km / 1,912 m positive / negative 1,042 m / 2 days

This stage is divided into only 3 half-day stretches and goes through the municipalities of Camprodon and Molló rising up to its end in the Pyrenees at the Ponds of Puig Sec, which is nothing more than a gift of nature, and a natural viewpoint of the Canigó mountain and peak, at the border with France. The Oliba Trail stops here but is planned to be 50 kms longer and end up in France at the monastery of Sant Miquel de Cuixà (St. Michel de Cuxa) and Toluges (Toulouges) where Oliba celebrated the renowned first ‘Peace and Truce of God’ assembly.

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Stretch 2. Alternative route

VARIANT STAGE GR-151-1

54 km / 1,870 m positive / negative 1,970 m / 3 days

This is the alternative to the easier route and branches off to the right just after Tavertet, leaving the main path halfway along stage 2. From Rupit, one of the prettiest villages of Catalonia, it heads towards Vidrà over the Bracons Col, then on to Vallfogona del Ripollès and meets up with the main route (GR151) again at Sant Joan de les Abadesses.

Accommodation and services

Along the route you will find some accommodation, restaurants and activities
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