Region: Pallars Sobirà || Difficulty: Very easy || Transportation: By car || Distance: 50.0 km || Signage: Yes || Duration: 5 h
This route runs through the Siarb Valley, from the El Cantó Pass to the banks of the Noguera Pallaresa River. There are still unusual corners to discover around Soriguera.
The route through the Soriguera Valley, formerly known as the Siarb Valley, begins in Sort. This town is reached from La Seu d'Urgell via the N-260 road toward El Cantó Pass. Less than ten kilometers from Sort, along the same N-260 road toward La Seu d'Urgell, is Vilamur, the valley's former nerve center. It preserves a Roman gateway and apse in its parish church dedicated to Our Lady of the Medina. Continue along the same road and, at km 19.6, reach Santa Creu Hill and its archaeological site. Park your car and hike up.
This site, the highest in Catalonia, contains the remains of an ancient settlement dating back to 1500 BC, which was finally abandoned between the 12th and 13th centuries. Remains have been recovered: house walls, narrow streets, the defensive wall, the circular tower, two ditches dug into the rock, and a church.
Next, we return along the N-260 road and take a detour to the left toward Llagunes, where the Nature Trail Center and the Monograph Museum of the Archaeological Site of the Medieval Depopulation of Santa Creu de les Llagunes are located. We return to the main road (the N-260). A little further on, we take another detour to the left that leads to Soriguera, a village perched on the mountainside due to the narrowness of the El Cantó River valley. From there, a paved track leads to Puiforniu.
We cross Puiforniu, a village clustered around the church of Santa Cecília, and reach the intersection of the track and the LV-5131 road, which climbs up from El Hostal Nou. We turn left towards Tornafort.
The old town of Tornafort is located on a hilltop. Then, when you return to the same LV-5131 road to exit onto the N-260 and head back down to Sort, you'll find a turnoff on the left that leads to Malmercat, where a remarkable stately building known as the Bielsa Castle remains.
Source: www.gencat.cat
Link: http://ow.ly/lc6jg