From Planoles to Ribes along the mining route of the ferreres de Ventolà

Itinerary that brings us closer to the geological and mining heritage of the Ribes valley and the small town of Ventolà. During the tour you can enjoy impressive views over the towns of the Ribes Valley and the pre-Pyrenean mountain ranges of Montgrony, Taga and Cavallera.

• Estimated time: Between 3h and 4h
• Difficulty: Easy
• Distance in Km: 8.75 Km
• Maximum altitude: 1,310 m
• Minimum altitude: 905 m
• Cumulative level ascent: 260 m
• Cumulative descent level: 485 m

From Planoles to Solà

The itinerary begins in Planoles, in the Plaza del Casino. Near the 12th century church of San Vicente, which is worth visiting. We head east along the Calle de las Escuelas at the end of this wide street, on the left side we will find some stairs that will take us to the R-151 sign (Fuente de la Serra). We take the path towards Ventolà and Ribes de Freser. The road ends in a concrete track that goes up from the neighborhood of Las Casetas; we have to take this track up until we find the road.

We cross the road to continue on another track. We leave the path that leads to El Serrat Rural tourism on the left. We continue the path in the middle of an oak grove that is gradually gaining height. We arrive at Solà, a small nucleus of four scattered houses that was formed as a result of the increase in mining activity during the 18th century.

From Solà to Ventolà

We leave some of these houses below and a little later we find another fully restored. The path goes towards the bottom of the torrent de las Vernedes, where tall poplars abound. After the torrent and after a short but steep climb, we see the town of Ventolà before us.

From Ventolà to Ribes de Freser

We arrive at Ventolà by the street of Planoles. This small town was born as a result of mining activity. It is structured at the foot of the Romanesque church of San Cristóbal, it is interesting to visit. We leave Ventolà going down the road, passing near a monumental holly tree. At the first bend in the road we take the mining path that will lead us to Can Paloca, an old miners' house now in ruins. We pass by the side of the Can Paloca fountain and a little further on we come to the set of open-pit and gallery mines known as Ferreres de Ventolà. These iron, copper, nickel and arsenic mines were exploited from Roman times until the 1960s.

After passing the entire mining complex, the path descends rapidly to Collada de Segura, just above Ribes de Freser where we will find the R-120 sign, there are 40 minutes left. It is worth going to the ruins of the old Roquerry castle that controlled the valley, located a few meters from the hill. We quickly go down a path towards Ribes de Freser, surrounding the granófiro, a large granite mass, a stronghold of an old volcanic chimney. We arrive in the city via the San Cristóbal oratory, R-122, and the old Cerdanya road. We are already in Ribes de Freser. We can go back to Planoles by train.

Source: Itinerannia