Route through the small villages of Alt Freser

Circular route of about 15 km in length through the Freser valley visiting the Serrat, Fustanyà, Rialb and Batet, and returning to Ribes de Freser by the Segura pass. The itinerary is well signposted.

It is a suitable excursion for people accustomed to long walks, since it has a length of 15 km.

We start the itinerary at the R123 sign (Castillo de Sant Pere) which is located at the Ribes de Freser exit next to the Pardines road and the zipper track.

The first section, made of cement, passes under the ruins of the castle of Sant Pere, which was the residence of the lords of Ribes. We pass by the cemetery, the Hotel Resguardo de los Vientos and finally by Mas Ventaiola, where you have to follow a dirt track that goes up to the left.

After making a couple of big curves this track goes up to the Collada de Can Nadal where we will find the signal R118. You have to follow the cement trail to the left. The views over the Alt Freser Valley are spectacular with Sierra del Estremera and the Puigmal Massif and the small neighborhoods scattered throughout the valley.

In a closed curve the itinerary leaves the track that we followed to take another one, this one of earth in the middle of a thick forest of hazel trees, rowan trees of the hunters and pines. On the other side of the small valley we begin to see our next goal: the Serrat neighborhood.

We leave the track to descend a path in the middle of a pot that takes us across the Maçanell river twice by wooden levers. We go up through the sunny valley by an old road that will take us to the Serrat center. We enter the town by its small church and cross the town by cobbled streets until the end of the town where we find the sign R117.

We left Serrat passing by the old road that went parallel to the current road but below. We passed through the Sant Antoni oratory and a little further on we left the wide path that would take us towards the road to take a narrower path that ends up becoming a path and after a short but fast descent it takes us to the road just where it is. a curve.

We follow the road a hundred meters to leave it again, now by an old road in the middle of bushes. The core of Fustanyà we see it closely. We arrived at Fustanyà where we found a cement track. We follow it to the left in descent and a little further on we find the sign R116. We follow the same track passing by the side of the church of Sant Sadurní de Fustanyà with its peculiar wooden bell tower.

We leave the Casanova on the left to continue down the track until, once under an aqueduct, we reach the road from Queralbs to Ribes. You have to follow this road a few hundred meters towards Ribes, on the left.

We cross the zipper track and arrive at Rialb, where all the iron and other minerals that were extracted from the valley arrived. We left the road and climbed the old road that linked Rialb with Batet. The road climbs and allows us to enjoy a beautiful view of the valley. We arrive at the small town of Batet, where we will have to take a first stretch of road downhill until we deviate a few hundred meters further along a path that plans to take us to Can Possons.

Before arriving at this, we will pass by an iron mine, a vestige of the intense mining activity of the valley. We follow the cement track that takes us to Can Possons and Can Segura to finally reach the Collada de Segura where we find the R120 sign.

Now we can only follow the path that descends quickly in Ribes de Freser, all around the granófiro mountain, on top of which was the castle of Segura. Once past the oratory of San Cristóbal, where we find the R122 sign, we enter Ribes de Freser through Cerdanya street.

Source: Regional Council of Ripollès