Gravel Cycling Tour Girona
Riding Days
4
Number of Nights
3
Total Distance
270 km
Total Climbing
3,150 metres
Difficulty
3/5
At a Glance
You've heard about the wonderful roads of varies terrain in the Girona area! On your average road ride it is not uncommon to include a small section of gravel to link amazing roads together, but what happens if you take a dedicated gravel machine with you from the start. The answer is that you access the most amazing network of gravel roads and paths which criss-cross all over the region and beyond. All of Girona's popular climbs such as Els Angels, Sant Grau and Rocacobra have a gravel alternative just waiting to be discovered.
During the Gravel Cycling Tour Girona trip, you will have three days of riding based in Girona old town, you'll explore every corner of the province, shooting out in a different direction every day. With diverse rides including coastal loops along the stunning Costa Brava to the enchanting medieval villages of the Empordá region, finishing off exploring the extinct volcanoes of the Garrotxa. This tour will give you a glimpse of the region by gravel and leave you wanting to return for the next instalment.
Tour Highlights
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Gravel
Tour Highlights:
- Venture into the Garrotxa volcanic area and into extinct volcanic craters
- Descend down to the coast on twisty gravel paths for ice cream and dip in the warm waters
- Explore the tranquil gravel roads, free of any traffic and play on the bike with a wide smile
Book Tour
€1,250.00 – €1,395.00
Overview
Gravel Cycling Tour Girona - The region & the challenge
Catalunya is nestled in the northeastern part of Spain, adjacent to the French border and hemmed in by the mountains of the Pyrenees.
Catalunya, Cataluña or Catalonia depending on which language you speak has a strong identity which is distinctly separate from that of the rest of Spain. Under the dictatorship of Franco, the region endured many years of repression of their identity, language and traditions. The result being the tensions you see bubbling up in the most recent calls for Catalan Independence and the recent clashes with the Spanish authorities.
As you travel around the province of Girona – one of the four provinces in the Catalunya region – you will hear a language which is not the familiar chatter of accented Spanish that you may be familiar with. Catalan is spoken more widely in the Girona Province than the larger metropolitan area of Barcelona and the further you venture away from the coast the more you will hear the tones, sounds and words which have a bigger similarity to French than to Spanish.
The traditions of this region are also intriguing. You won’t find the familiar stereotypes of bullfighting Spaniards here; you’re more likely to find extreme feats of strength – which symbolise the character of the Catalans – as they build immense human towers called ‘colles castellers’. Working under the motto ‘Força, equilibri, valor i seny’, the castellers represent the strength, balance, courage and common sense ingrained into the people of Catalunya.
As you travel around the province of Girona, you will be pleasantly surprised by the tranquillity and welcoming nature of the Catalans as they patiently wait behind a group of cyclists, passing only when called to do so, something which most cyclists are not so familiar with!
Perfect Gravel Destination
Girona combines an ideal mix of mountains, hills and flatter terrain, all set within outstanding natural beauty. This is one of the reasons why professionals make it their home. Imagine if you could increase the number of ride options, almost exponentially! This is what riding gravel in Girona offers you. With only one tarmac ascent from Girona up Els Angels (the climb directly out of the city), there are around 5 or 6 different gravel options up the same ascent. This is repeated across all of the great ascents of the area.
Gravel is fast becoming the most popular branch of the sport. The pros are reaching for their gravel bikes when the serious business of training for grand tours is done. Gravel offers the tranquillity of riding into areas where all you hear is the natural environment and the giddy kid enjoyment of playing around on your bikes. It’s no wonder why more riders are heading off the tarmac to rediscover the excitement of riding.
With 60% of Catalunya covered by forest, this also provides an ideal playground for gravel riding. With many paths through the wooded areas pierced with jagged rock faces and river crossings, you’ll crest the top of the hills catching glimpses of the shimmering blue sea one minute and deep in dense trees with water crossings the next.
The diversity of this region offers you the volcanic area of Garrotxa, the beautiful lakes of Pla de l’Estany and the coastal and Mediterranean feel of Empordá. The rides have been selected to show off the best of the area.
Through Empordá, you’ll be climbing into the massif of Montgrí with its magnificent limestone formations that rise from the sea and then racing down immaculate gravel paths zigzagging through olives trees and apple orchards before lunch on the beach, where a quick dip in the warm waters of the Mediterranean set you up for a lovely ride back to Girona. Explore the tranquil and varied diversity of the region by gravel.
Charming villages
In addition to the attractive landscape, cuisine and the people of Girona Province, there are some places in this region that have a truly unique air about them.
This is the case of the charming villages that you will discover as you ride through Girona old town, Beget, Camprodon, Santa Pau and Monells, among some others.
Girona has so many attractions that it is hard to know where to begin. It is one of the most important medieval towns in Catalunya: don’t miss its unique Jewish quarter and the Girona Cathedral.
The fact that almost one-third of the Costa Brava and the Girona Pyrenees is a natural protected area should give you a good idea of what you’ll find there: with just a few kilometres separating the snow-capped Pyrenees peaks from the Mediterranean’s most charming beaches and coves.
In such a short distance there’s room for fishing villages and high mountain rural towns, for Romanesque monasteries and churches, for Iberian settlements, Greek and Roman ruins, Jewish quarters and medieval fortifications, and the surrealist legacy of Salvador Dalí.
Climate
Details
What's Included
- 3 night’s accommodation
- All breakfasts and evening meals at the hotel and local restaurants*
- Airport transfers – transfer times to be arranged
- Experienced and local language guides
- Mechanical support / building and packing of bikes
- Road side picnics on ride days
- Detailed digital route files for use on GPS Devices
- Complimentary sports nutrition
- La Fuga welcome pack
*Meals are included up to a specific budget after which a supplement will be applied
What's not Included
- Flights
- Café or restaurant lunches and coffee stops
- All drinks with meals
- Personal Travel Insurance
- Incidental Expenses
- Parts and spares used during the trip
- Tips and gratuities
- Massages
- Bike Rental option available during the checkout
Itinerary
Our La Fuga guides will pick you up from Barcelona airport and transfer you to your hotel. Once checked in, your bikes will be assembled or fitted if using rental bikes. We have the excellent Basso Palta rental bikes for you to use for the trip should you wish. We’ll then head out for a quick spin on some local gravel close to Girona to check out the machines ahead of the rides to come.
There will be time ahead of dinner to have a walk into Girona Old town to grab an ice-cream or grab a drink enjoying the ambience of ‘Plaça de la Independència’
Your guide will brief you over dinner about the format of the next few days of riding. After dinner, you can explore the old town or just head back to the hotel sit on the terrace and enjoy the views over the city.
Today we do the ride out to the north of Girona into the area of Garroxta which contains 40 well-preserved Volcano cones. Don’t worry, though, the last eruption was 11,500 years ago. The cones of the area and thick forest provide an excellent playground for twisty and winding gravel tracks. We’ll stay as much as we can on gravel, but there will be the odd bit of tarmac to link some of the excellent gravel roads
We’ll take part of a disused railway line which is now an excellent gravel path well used by gravellers to travel between Girona and Olot. We won’t stay on there for very long as we dive off and explore some more of the valleys which litter area close to the road climb of Rocacorba.
As we get close to the beautiful town of Santa Pau, we’ll drop down into some of the cones of the volcanoes for a unique experience and a bizarre feeling as you are surrounded by a tight small circular rim all the way around. A stop for lunch in the sunshine in the town of Santa Pau will allow a quick ‘cortado’ or two to be consumed.
We will head back via the lake at Banyoles to where there will be the opportunity for a quick dip before a swift ride back to Girona and a chance to clean up. Dinner will be taken in the old town at one of our favourite restaurants. You’ll have enough time to explore some of the beauty of Girona, one of the best examples of medieval towns in Catalonia. Don’t miss the unique Jewish quarter, and the Girona Cathedral, which was featured as one of the main sets in the ‘Games of Thrones’ series.


Today is all about the coastal views. We can grab an espresso in one of the many cycling cafes in Girona to start our adventure. You should try the Xuixo (it is a delicious pastry from Girona, a sugar-coated cylindrical pastry filled with Crema Catalana). You’ll need the ride to shed the calories if you try it.
The ride will head out of Girona on the ‘Vies Verde’ (the green route) heading flat out of the city through the Selva valley. The ride is more or less flat through classic farmland gravel tracks between fields with the occasional wooded section. As we pass the town of Llagostera the gravel starts to head upwards and into the forested area which separates the Selva valley from the coast. Sant Grau is a popular classic road climb, but there is a gravel alternative, and it’s even more beautiful and quiet than the road equivalent. As you crest the top of the climb, you’ll be greeted by the inviting shimmering blue waters of the Mediterranean hundreds of metres below you. The rock formations and the vegetation is distinctly Mediterranean and different from the route to this point.
You’ll trace the high path on the ridgeline with the constant distraction of the blue waters below. You’ll descent down to the ‘Med’ and be able to touch your feet in the water at Sant Feliu and indulge in some well-earned lunch. The ride continues to follow the coast after lunch before heading inland to the Empordá region.
The Empordá is well known for its delightful medieval villages and fields lined with a selection of vines, olive groves, and crops such as rice which is grown here locally along with an abundance of apple orchards. We’ll meander through this diverse area passing through a number of villages until the climb starts of Els Angels. A series of super single-track routes wind up the mountain to the top of the church where Salvador Dali was married. From here you’ll have vistas over all of the Empordá regions below.
All that remains is a super descent back to Girona where you can freshen up and then relax by the pool with a cool drink or explore the town further.
Dinner will be taken in another of our local favourites offering typical cuisine of the region.


With an afternoon return flight home, it allows you a chance to take on this short 1.5-2h loop. Legs will be tired after a few days of cycling, but this short loop will be an enjoyable way of finishing your adventure trip on the gravel bike.
We will finish our ride and have lunch in one of the many squares in Girona. After the last portion of ‘patatas bravas’ and ‘croquettes’, we ride back to the hotel. You can enjoy a refreshing drink on the roof of the hotel, and our mechanic will pack your bikes ready for the journey home.


Accommodation
The Hotel Palau de Bellavista Girona is a modern and excellent 3-star hotel just a short walk from Girona Old Town. The hotel has the best views of Girona, which combines careful design with impeccable service and great details that make the difference.
Ideal for lovers of refreshing dips and breathtaking views. Relax and enjoy the views over the city from the roof terrace bar and pool, offering a unique perspective of the city of Girona.
Relax with a coffee in the morning or refreshing drink after the ride on the terrace or by the pool. You can be treated to spectacular sunsets each evening or a stroll through the town after your ride.