W Corto: Al Col de la Batallola

Please note: routeyou overestimates the number of altimeters, a realistic estimate is 1170 hm (according to garminconnect).

From Ripoll you pedal in an anti-clockwise direction and then you first reach the Col de Merolla in front of the wheels, actually quite a running climb (never steep).

After a relatively short descent you will climb the Col de la Batallola, also known as Coll de Sant Jaume: an irregular climb on this side through an area of pine forests. The descent passes through Sant Jaume de Frontanya, the smallest village in Catalonia. There is a monastery worth seeing in this village (with a special architectural style).

After 52 km you will arrive at a very famous restaurant in this region: Cobert de Puigcercós. So you can eat and drink here and that's also possible at the nearby campsite. After this restaurant, turn left onto a hidden concrete path (with good concrete surface (September 2023)) that takes you along the Merlès river (upstream) in which several water basins have been dug into the rocks with a number of small waterfalls (and which is popular with young locals to cool off). The concrete path takes you through a nature reserve.

You then go up the C-26 first going up and then going back down to Ripoll. The roads on this route are very quiet in terms of traffic (except for the road in the valley of the river Ter (first 6 km)).