Sant Esteve d'en Bas - Collfred - Bellmunt - Bracons - Sant Esteve d'en Bas

SECTIONS WITH TRAFFIC DENSITY / ROAD SURFACE DEFECTS	HIGH DENSITY	MEDIUM DENSITY	LOW DENSITY
Sant Esteve d’en Bas -Collfred - Sant Quirze de Besora			Secondary road
Sant Quirze - Sant Pere de Torelló		Dense urban and inter-urban section
C-17 entrance 81 exit 79	1 km section with wide hard shoulder, authorised for cyclists
Sant Pere de Torelló -Bellmunt			Secondary road
Sant Pere de Torelló - Sant Esteve d’en Bas			Secondary road

We depart from the car park of the municipal swimming pool of Sant Esteve d’en Bas, right by the Olot – Sant Feliu de Guíxols Greenway. There’s plenty of parking available here, along with a bar-restaurant and, of course, the municipal swimming pool if you fancy cooling off after the ride.

We take secondary roads of the Vall d’en Bas area with hardly any road traffic, heading in the direction of Sant Privat d’en Bas. Before we reach Sant Privat, on the right we come to a narrow road that soon becomes very steep, taking us up to the Collfred Pass. It’s an asphalted rural track that goes all the way to Vidrà. It’s extremely tough, especially at the start, with gradients of up to 20%. Although it’s a rural track, the asphalt is in a good state of repair.

Once we complete the Collfred Pass, a vertiginous descent takes us down to Ciuret and then on to Vidrà. We continue along the BV-5227 road, which will take us to Sant Quirze de Besora. There’s a stretch of heavy traffic here where we need to ride very carefully. We head onto the C-17 highway at entrance 81 and ride downhill for one kilometre as far as exit 79, where we take the side road. This is a section with a wide hard shoulder and special road signs warning drivers that there may be cyclists on the road.

Once we complete this section, we continue along the BV-5622 road to Sant Vicenç de Torelló, and along the BV-5224 road to Sant Pere de Torelló. At Sant Pere the climb up to the Bellmunt Sanctuary begins: 6.5 kilometres with an average gradient of 9.4% and a final slope with a gradient of 23%!

At the summit of this steep climb an exceptional vantage point offers views of the Vic Plain. But if you’re running short on energy this is an optional climb. For the descent from Bellmunt we have to go back on ourselves until we get back to the BV-5224 road.

We leave Sant Pere de Torelló behind and start the climb up to the final mountain pass, the Bracons Pass. On paper, Bracons isn’t as tough as the others, but our perspective might be altered by the amount of elevation we’ve gained by then! Once we complete the pass, a fun descent takes us down to Sant Esteve d’en Bas, the start and end point of the route.

Points of interest

Ciuret: the hamlet of Ciuret, located 6 km from Vidrà and at an altitude of 1,155 metres above sea level, is composed of the Casa de Baix, Cant Font, El Moreu and Can Púbill farmhouses. The meadows that surround this group of farmhouses make it a special place in the heart of nature.

Bellmunt Sanctuary: sanctuary in the municipal district of Sant Pere de Torelló (Osona), located at the summit of the Bellmunt Mountain Range, at an altitude of 1,246 metres above sea level. Its vantage point offers views of the Vic Plain, the Pyrenees, the Ges Valley and the Bisaura area. A shelter and restaurant are located next to the sanctuary, both built on solid rock.

Vidrà: small town in the county of Osona but with the distinctive characteristic of belonging to the province of Girona. Surrounded by oak and beech forests and Alpine meadows, it’s also home to springs, waterfalls and monumental trees. From some of the summits of Vidrà we can enjoy views of the Bay of Roses, the Vic-Montseny Plain, Pedraforca Mountain, and the Cadí and Canigó ranges.

Bracons Pass: mountain pass located between the municipal districts of Sant Pere de Torelló, in Osona, and Vall d'en Bas, in Garrotxa, at an altitude of 1,132 metres above sea level. It marks the boundary between the basins of the Ter and Fluvià rivers. Departure point for hikers aiming to climb up to the summit of Puigsacalm mountain.