A private hiking experience in Girona: from the ravine to the boat, like a sixteenth-century corsair
In 1543 the pirate Barbarossa was laying waste to the coasts of Girona. A first sacking of Cadaqués was followed later by another in the town of Palamós. The authorities were overwhelmed when it came to defending themselves against those raids, at a time when the emperor Charles V had several fronts open at once.
Barbary attacks were constant, and they came at a decisive moment, when Charles I of Spain and V of Germany had to leave the country once again to fight in Italy against Francis I. That is why, a few months earlier, in Palamós precisely, the emperor was waiting to embark for Genoa. And it was there that he drew up the Palamós Instructions, naming the future Philip II as regent.
Being so far from Spain meant he could not deal personally with domestic matters. Problems such as the ones that Barbarossa’s raids would cause on the Costa Brava a few months later. To prevent them, the regent Philip ordered the coastal towns to be fortified with walls and set watch and defence towers along the coast.
Many of those lookouts are still standing today. And when needs changed, in the nineteenth century, these towers were linked by a path known as the Camí de Ronda. A track used by the Guardia Civil and the Carabineros to fight smuggling.
The value of these public works — which wind their way between the cliffs — is very high, and that is why so much work is going into preserving them. If you want to enjoy a privileged view of them, at Girona Tours we suggest an active tourism activity that is very, very interesting indeed.
Read on and we will explain how to enjoy a day’s hiking in Girona in a special and different way.
Hiking the Camí de Ronda past cliffs, pine woods and secret anchorage coves
You may well have come to Girona for golf tourism. But your trip is surely not going to consist solely of shutting yourself away on one of the two courses at Camiral Golf & Wellness to spend the whole holiday playing golf. Whether you come alone or with friends and family, you will probably want to eat in one of the great restaurants of Girona, or perhaps you will fancy a balloon flight over the Garrotxa.
Beyond that, it is good to do other kinds of activity. In this case, so that the experience is comfortable and satisfying, what we suggest is starting a hiking and sailing route first thing in the morning. A private driver will pick you up at the luxury hotel in Girona where you are staying. And the driver will take you to the Costa Brava, to the start of the route, so that you can set off on foot.
Bear in mind that the untamed spirit of the Mediterranean is perfectly embodied in the coastal strip of the province of Girona. The cliffs drop onto the turquoise water of the Costa Brava in a unique and abrupt way.
For hiking on the Costa Brava, history and nature have left us a beautiful route: the Camí de Ronda.
A path that makes its way among centuries-old pines leaning over the abyss in search of a little sea breeze. And along that path a turbulent history can be sensed, half-hidden. Every rocky inlet, every sea cave and every small bay sheltered between cliffs was, centuries ago, a silent witness to and a setting for the raids and clandestine anchorages of the Barbary corsairs.
We can tell you now that walking, for example, along stretches such as the one from S’Agaró to Sa Conca, or along the steep paths that skirt Begur, goes far beyond the mere sporting side of active tourism. You could say that hiking on the Costa Brava transcends its original purpose to become a journey deep into the old coastal line of defence. Because in that setting people were actively fighting pirates, with the aim of protecting the local population from the danger of being plundered. Or from something worse: ending up enslaved in the markets of Constantinople.
From these natural lookouts, camouflaged between the dark green of the stone pines and the pink granite rock, the coastal inhabitants responsible for defence scanned the sea for the lateen sails of the pirate galleys, before they launched their lightning attacks on the inland villages.
But the real magic of this coastline — which you must not miss under any circumstances — lies in its amphibious nature. If you hike the Camí de Ronda you will get a breathtaking perspective: commanding the height from the top of the cliffs and then dropping down the ravines towards the hidden coves that form along much of the Costa Brava.
Coves such as Aigua Xelida or Cala Estreta, which for centuries were natural shelters and secret anchorages for the corsairs, and which are still out of reach for the conventional tourist. These are places impossible to reach by land, because of the vertical stone walls and the great masses of vegetation.
But you can enjoy them if you approach the coast from the deck of a private boat. In the next section we explain how to organise your hiking and private sailing routes along the Camí de Ronda.
The switch from the path to the boat’s deck
At the precise moment when the effort of walking the Camí de Ronda starts to take its toll, we suggest a truce. Instead of walking back to the pick-up point, retracing your steps, what we will do is go down to a cove where a private boat will be waiting for you.
That is when you will take off your hiking boots for a dip in the open sea. To make it happen, at Girona Tours we will have organised in advance all the logistics needed for a private boat to be waiting for you, anchored in one of those coves that cars and conventional tourists never reach.
The switch is ideal, since you will be able to rest, take off your boots and your rucksack, freshen up and have a first glass of local cava on the deck of the boat, which will stay anchored a few metres from the shore until you finish the hiking route.
We want you to relax on a private crossing designed to look at the Costa Brava’s ravines and coves from another perspective, closer to the one the pirates who sailed with Barbarossa had on their raids around the area. And if you then want a restorative swim, the boat’s skipper will sail towards the best water on the coast, where you can enjoy clean, turquoise sea.
When lunchtime comes, you will be served a seafood lunch with local produce such as Palamós red prawn or rockfish freshly caught on the nearby reefs. All of it paired with the white and rosé wines of the DO Empordà.
Can there be anything better for a day’s hiking than to finish it sailing in the calm waters of Cap de Creus or in the coves of Begur?
If you would rather string several days of sea and mountains together, take a look too at our private nature and adventure tour of the Costa Brava.