Discover Sant Miquel De Campmajor

If you are considering Sant Miquel de Campmajor as a destination for a hotel stay, two different interests can help you find your bearings: Romanesque and medieval architecture, and trails through the municipality and valley. The places described include churches and a defensive tower, as well as waterscapes and routes. For your planning, it is worth considering cultural attractions and routes separately: with La Volta a la Vall, stage logistics are explicitly part of the decision.

Romanesque Churches and Medieval Architecture

The Església de Sant Miquel de Campmajor has Romanesque origins and was built between the 11th and 12th centuries. It preserves original apses with Lombard blind arcades; the church has three naves and three apses. This building therefore offers a chance to observe both the division into naves and the design of the apses.

The Torre de Briolf displays a different architectural form: this Romanesque defensive tower is known as a «mas-torre», meaning a fortified tower farmhouse, and served to control the Vall de Campmajor. The medieval complex of Sant Esteve de Briolf also includes a small Romanesque church, dating from the 11th to 13th centuries. The defensive tower and church give the complex distinct architectural features.

The Església de Sant Martí de Campmajor, also known as Santa Quitèria, offers a glimpse of another historical period: it was built in 844 on the orders of Abbot Elies of the Monastery of Sant Esteve de Banyoles. A local preparation is also part of the Aplec de Santa Quitèria: villagers hand-knead round flatbreads, almost as thin as wafers, using flour and water without yeast, and bake them in a wood-fired oven.

Waterscapes and Distinctive Natural Features

The Castanyer de Sant Nicolau is a sweet chestnut tree protected by the Generalitat de Catalunya. Its trunk circumference is 9.65 metres, and its crown reaches up to 17 metres high. These specific measurements make the tree a distinctive natural attraction alongside the municipality’s buildings.

Over the centuries, pools, springs and small ponds have formed in the valley of Sant Miquel de Campmajor. Around thirty ponds lie in two larger areas near the Riera de Sant Miquel. The Font de la Borada is another named water feature: it emerges from the rocks, forms a small pond and marks the beginning of a stream.

Routes: Stages, a Circular Route and Individual Destinations

La Volta a la Vall is more than 48 kilometres long, is divided into six stages and circles the entire municipality of Sant Miquel de Campmajor. An important point for planning: the individual stages are not circular routes. A vehicle is therefore needed at the end of each stage and another at the start. The distance and number of stages describe the scope of the route; the vehicle requirement is the practical difference to bear in mind when planning.

The Ruta de la serra de Campmajor is laid out differently: it is a circular route linking the farmhouses of the Serra de Campmajor with the Vall de Campmajor by trails. The two routes described therefore differ in form: La Volta a la Vall consists of several non-circular stages, while the Ruta de la serra is described as a circular route.

Other destinations are connected by walking trails. El Pont de Can Prat is part of several walking trails through the municipality. A walk to the Gorga del Diable leads to the River Ser, to a spot near a large rocky cliff. For cyclists, the BTT Route 5 «De Briolf i Guixeres» is named as a cycling route. Cultural sites, individual walking destinations and cycling routes can thus be considered as different interests when choosing a destination.

Discover more destinations: Sarriá De Ter, Les Olives, Espolla, La Vall De Bianya, La Cometa, Cistella, Les Planes D'hostoles, Ullà.

For the general travel overview: Girona.