Circular route in the Sanctuary of Bellmunt from Sant Pere de Torelló

We leave from the town of Sant Pere de Torelló along Calle de Bellmunt which goes up quite steeply as it is a street in the town. We avoid the street that has the indicator of the Sanctuary of Bellmunt on our left, since it indicates the access road for the vehicle. We continue straight up Calle Bellmunt until the end of the town.

When we leave the nucleus, the street becomes a track first, and then a path. This ascent coincides with the marks of the GR-151 and the Camino del Abad Oliba, although the main guide will be the milestones and orange marks above. This itinerary is also the classic ascent to Bellmunt and for this reason it is likely that we will find many people who do the route from the town or from a bit higher up.

The first 25-30 minutes are spent on a section with several smoothed rocks on the outskirts of Sant Pere de Torelló. We will gradually go up these rocks and, at some point, we will also have to descend a few meters. In order not to lose our way, we will be looking at the different milestones that we will find.

Once we have passed this sunnier and rockier section, we will come to a forest track and the paved road at the height of the Coll del Hostal del Mal Govern (curious name by the way). At this point, a sign indicates that we have already reached more than half of the route to Bellmunt (we have carried 2.4 km from the town and only 1.8 km to the top). Don't let this short mileage fool us, since now the real climb begins.

The path zigzags through a holm oak forest with boxwood undergrowth. The path makes several loops to overcome the unevenness. In this way, the climb becomes more bearable.

After about 10 minutes we come back to the road that goes up to Bellmunt. Now we follow it for about 5-7 minutes until we come back to the path that comes out to our left and goes up, now through a more shady and humid area. In this section, we will have passed by the chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Montserrat.

A few minutes later we find the road again a bit further up. We cross it and pass next to the Font Vidranesa recreational area. Throughout the ascent we will cross the Bellmunt road several times. At one of these crossings, we will find the remains of what had been Alzina Grossa, a "monumental" / large tree that was felled by the Gloria storm (2020).

After about 15-20 minutes from Alzina Grossa, we will arrive at the parking lot of the Sanctuary of Bellmunt after having done several zigzags in a section of steep slope.

Now we only need to do the last stretch of access to the Sanctuary, which we can do along the same cemented track, taking a little detour, or going directly up the path that climbs some rocks and takes a shortcut to the foot of the Sanctuary.

Once up, we visit the interior of the hermitage and also the Bellmunt viewpoint, where the famous cross is located and a webcam that allows you to see Bellmunt live 24 hours a day from home. There is also a little chapel with the Virgen de las Aladas, in reference to the winged ants that, as they explain, climb up here to Bellmunt.

The views from the top are splendid: on clear days we can see Montserrat, Montseny, the entire Vic plain and most of the peaks of the Eastern Pyrenees, such as Puigmal, Taga, Bastiments. Beyond, we can also perfectly see Puigllançada, Pedraforca and the rest of the Berguedà peaks. The view from up here is especially beautiful on foggy days on the plain, since you have the feeling of being on top of a sea of clouds.

To go down, we will follow the indications of the PR-C 45 that makes the circular Torelló - Bellmunt - Torelló. We will only follow it as far as Sant Pere de Torelló going down the Serrat dels Cristians and towards the hermitage of Sant Roc. The path descends decidedly, first through the beech forest, then through the oak grove and finally through the holm oak forest. It is advisable to be alert in the first section of steep slope through the beech and oak forests so as not to slip on the leaves that fall from the trees, especially in late autumn and during winter.

As on the way up, the path is a bit of a leg-breaker as there is quite a bit of rock and unevenness. After about 30-35 minutes we come to a crossroads with a forest track. At this point, we continue along the track that goes down to our right and that takes us along a path to an oak grove where work has been carried out to recover the forest after the droughts.

A little bit further down, inside the holm oak grove, we find a fork in the path and we continue along the one to the right. It soon turns into a forest track and we arrive at the Serrat de Nespla house. We pass next to the house and at a fork in cemented paths, we take a path in the direction of Sant Pere de Torelló (signpost).

A few minutes later, we arrive at the hermitage of Sant Roc, from where we can already see the town. Now all we have to do is finish going down a path until we reach the BV-5224 road that goes from San Vicente de Torelló to Bracons. We follow it for a bit and, in fact, we can finish reaching the town along the road or continue along a path that goes up to our right towards the old town of Sant Pere (signpost).

Be that as it may, we will enter the town through the eastern side and continue through its streets until we find the place where we left the car.

Authorship photographs and text: Sergi Boixader