Route to the hermitage of Penyafel in Santa Margarida i els Monjos

Circular route with beginning and end in the town of the Monks that allows to know one of the main elements of the architectural and historical heritage of the municipality, the hermitage of Penyafel.

The itinerary brings us closer to discovering the cultivation of the vine and the Mediterranean forest, characterized by pine forests of white pine with a rich undergrowth of aromatic plants such as thyme, rosemary or lavender. Once in the hermitage, you can enjoy exceptional views of the Penedès plain.

The itinerary begins at the Tourist Information Point of the municipality, located at the entrance to the nucleus of the Monks. From this point, we start the route along Avenida Cataluña, crossing the town of Los Monjes to the Town Hall where we will turn left onto Calle Anselm Clavé. We continue to the end and turn left onto Calle de la Perla; then we turn right following the paved road and we leave behind the nucleus of the Monks.

We cross the Llitrà stream and pass under the railway and high-speed train bridges. We continue along this asphalt road parallel to the tracks and after 200m we turn right onto the first dirt road that we come across.

Soon we reached the place known as Los Pinos Altos, we continued along the road for about 200m until we reached a crossroads. We turn left towards SE. Now the path climbs between weeds on the right and vineyards on the left. From here we already have good views of the Penedès plain.

We walk about 550m and leave a path to the right that is elevated, after 100m we leave another to the left and shortly after at a fork we turn left. Now the path descends and crosses a pine forest with a rich undergrowth of aromatic plants, such as lavender and rosemary. In some section of this road the marks of the cart ruts are preserved in the rock. We arrived next to the source of Penyafel, to see the source to go down a small path and return to look for the main path.

We cross the bottom of Mas Granell by a small bridge surrounded by hackberry trees and continue the path until we reach the farmhouse and the hermitage of Penyafel, passing in front of a raft recovered to promote amphibian breeding in the Foix Park.

To make the return we will follow the asphalt road that leaves Penyafel in the direction of the Monks, we pass by the stream and the Mata-rectores fountain, a place where large banana trees stand out. At the end of the stream, we come to a crossroads and leave the main road to turn right, passing under the high-speed train bridge first, and then the railroad. Two large stone pines stand out on the left bank.

The path, now unpaved, continues north between vineyards and, at the next crossroads, we turn onto the path to the left. After a few meters, we pass under the Escarabina bridge and we arrive at the starting point of the route.

Source: Santa Margarida i els Monjos Town Council