NW Medium: Coll de la Creueta and Campelles

Please note: routeyou overestimate the number of altimeters, a realistic estimate is 1900 hm (according to garminconnect).

The route climbs up the valley of the river El Freser along the main road to Campdevanol, and then leaves the river valley through the first part of the Col de Merolla. You don't climb to the top because you keep climbing to the top of the Col de la Creueta (1923 m altitude). This means 30 km of climbing with a real variety of landscapes (at the bottom very forested, narrow roads, later wide roads, partly rocky landscape, in some places the earth turns dark red and at the top you enter an inhospitable (treeless) mountainous landscape). There is no restaurant at the top, the first opportunity to eat can be found about 4 or 5 kilometers after the top in a large parking lot (near a ski resort). Through Toses (here you can also eat) and Planoles you descend again to the river El Freser (in Ribes de Freser you can also eat).

After this long descent there is a loop (ascent) to Campelles, called Collet de Cal Climent, in which you get many views of the surrounding area. Campelles is a typical Catalan mountain village with houses in a characteristic architectural style. You go around concrete roads at high altitude (which are in worse condition in few places) to El Baell (here you can eat) from where the road becomes a good asphalt. From El Baell you descend and only the last 2 kilometres are on the same road you climbed. Continue your way to Ripoll descending slightly along the busy main road N260 into the valley of the river El Freser.