Paths of the Bishop and Abbot Oliba

The Barcelona regions of Osona and Bages, and the Girona region of Ripollès, are the protagonists of this route that takes the name of a capital figure in the history of Catalonia, the Bishop and Abbot Oliba.

The route (173 km and +) has one of its great attractions in Romanesque art, but also in landscapes such as those of the spectacular Tavertet cliffs or the Sau reservoir.

It is a route to do on foot (in fact, it follows a Long Distance Path, the GR-151, and its variant GR-151-1), and which wants to be accessible to most people. That is why two alternatives are offered in many of its sections: a passage through more population centers, with shorter stages and more services, and the other is designed for people more prepared to walk.

The stages of the demarcation of Barcelona are:

• Montserrat Monastery * - Manresa: Route: 24.1 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 918 m Estimated time: 5-6 h
• Manresa - Navarcles: Distance: 11 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 158 m Estimated time: 2-3 h
• Navarcles - Artés: Distance: 9.3 km Accumulated elevation gain: 199 m Estimated time: 2-3 h
• Artés - El Lago: Route: 23.2 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 881 m Estimated time: 5-6 h
• El Lago - Vic: Route: 20.47 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 614 m Estimated time: 5-6 h
• Vic - Folgueroles: Route: 10.7 km Accumulated elevation gain: 128 m Estimated time: 2-3 h
• Folgueroles - Casserres: Route: 11.5 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 545 m Estimated time: 2-3 h
• Casserres - Vilanova de Sau: Route: 9.25 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 490 m Estimated time: 2-3 h
• Vilanova de Sau - Tavertet: Route: 10 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 663 m Estimated time: 2-3 h
• Tavertet - La Ardilla: Route: 16 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 621 m Estimated time: 4 - 5 h
• La Ardilla - Sant Pere de Torelló: Route: 11.1 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 240 m Estimated time: 2-3 h
• Sant Pere de Torelló - Santa Maria de Besora: Route: 11.5 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 842 m Estimated time: 3 - 4 h
• Santa Maria de Besora - La Farga de Bebié: Route: 8.3 km Accumulated difference in altitude: 330 m Estimated time: 2-3 h

WALK AMONG ROMANESQUE

The Caminos del Obispo and Abad Oliva bring hikers closer to some of the best examples of Romanesque art in the Barcelona regions. This is the case of the monastery of Santa María del Lago, with an excellent Romanesque cloister, or the monastery of Sant Pere de Casserres, humble but full of history and details
and located on a meander of the Ter. Both the Manresa Regional Museum and the Vic Episcopal Museum will find an extensive and rich collection of medieval art.

A STOP IN VIC

The Plaza Mayor, arcaded, elegant by the buildings that surround it and with an immense central esplanade that every Tuesday and Saturday lives an intense market of medieval origin; the Cathedral of San Pedro Apóstol, with a Romanesque crypt and tower and wall paintings by Josep M. Sert; the Episcopal Museum, which exhibits more than 20,000 works of Romanesque and Gothic art; the old town, the Romanesque bridge, the Roman temple... Vic is well worth a stop on the way, and when you do, don't forget to try the salchichón!

Source: Barcelona Provincial Council