The best walks and hikes around Parc del Montnegre i el Corredor

One of those springs that if you don't know it's there, you'll pass it by. It's hidden under the Pont de l'Aranyal, very close to the Forns de Pega de Can Valls. You have to get off the path for a moment and go down to it. The change is noticeable immediately: shade, humidity, ferns, and that coolness of the enclosed corners of Montnegre. It has stone tables and some logs to sit on, so it's a good place to park your bike for five minutes and rest. Be careful with the water: it's not drinkable. You don't come here to fill your water bottle, but to enjoy the spot. If you're riding in this area on MTB, the small detour is worth it, even if only to see it once.

If you pass by the Can Valls path, it's worth stopping to look at these three strange structures. They are not modern kilns: they are traditionally dated to the 9th–10th centuries, and one of them is still practically whole. Here, pine and oak stumps and wood were slowly baked to obtain "pega", a kind of vegetable tar used to waterproof boats and containers, and also for lighting. What's curious is to think that more than a thousand years ago, people were already working this forest and exploiting its resources right at this spot. A small stop that, if you don't know what you're looking at, goes completely unnoticed.

It is not really a cave: it is an old mine dug by hand to search for copper —aram means copper—, with a gallery of about 25–30 meters that goes directly into the mountain. Inside, you can still see veins of colorful minerals: green malachite, blue azurite, quartz, chalcopyrite… In short, years ago someone used to come here to chip stone where today we enter with our mobile phone and a flashlight. And it has its little guerrilla legend: this cave was linked to Quico Sabaté, one of the most famous maquis who fought against Francoism. Local history says he moved and hid in these woods, although researchers consider it more likely that he used another nearby cave, much harder to locate.

This small hermitage has more lives than a cat. During the Civil War it was looted and reduced to practically three walls. The image of the Virgin had better luck: the farmers of Can Preses hid it during the war. Then came the most surreal thing: abandoned for decades, its ruins ended up serving as a home for charcoal burners. In 2009, the local people got tired of seeing it die, gathered money and work, and managed to rebuild it. And just when it seemed the place was regaining its calm, in 2010 a storm with winds of over 100 km/h felled the gigantic two-hundred-year-old oak tree that stood in front. They even tried to clone it so it wouldn't disappear completely. A hidden Virgin, a looted hermitage, charcoal burners living within its walls, and a cloned tree. For a small chapel lost in the Montnegre, quite a few things have happened here.

Sant Martí de Montnegre Una església aïllada dins del Parc Natural del Montnegre, de gran valor per la seva integració en el paisatge forestal. És un punt de referència en les rutes de l'interior.

Església de Sant Llop d'Hortsavinyà El document més antic on s'esmenta Hortsavinyà és del 1101, i el primer de l'església, del 1301, si bé la primitiva esglesiola podria ser del segle IX o X. La major part de l'edifici actual és del segle XVIII. Sant Llop n'és el patró (1 de setembre), i per això se celebra la festa major en aquestes dates, coincidint amb el primer diumenge del mes. I si sant Llop és el patró de l'església, santa Eulàlia ho és del poble, i pels volts del 10 de desembre se celebra la festa major petita d'Hortsavinyà. Tradicionalment, sant Llop fou l'encarregat, en la fe cristiana, de guarir el mal de coll i l'afonia, i se'l relacionava amb alguns comportaments dels llops. Tot això ens porta a cercar els seus orígens en un personatge precristià, el pare Llop, un home que convivia amb un ramat de llops a les muntanyes. Una vegada a l'any baixava a les masies a cobrar un tribut, que calia pagar si es volia evitar l'atac dels llops al bestiar i a les persones. També era creença general, segons podem llegir als bestiaris medievals catalans, que si un home veia un llop abans que el llop a ell, la bèstia restava muda per sempre més, però si era el llop qui el veia primer, qui perdia la veu era l'home. Això darrer es produïa per l'ensurt que patia la persona en trobar-se el llop. D'aquí ve la relació de sant Llop amb l'afonia. Font: XPN

Sant Miquel de Vallmanya L'església està documentada des de l'any 1021. L'actual edifici és, però, molt posterior, del segle XVI, modificat de nou el 1826, segons es pot llegir a la porta. La façana té el coronament ondulat típicament barroc. El campanar, quadrat, té el tram superior de maó vist i està cobert amb una cúpula. adossada a l'església hi ha la casa del sagristà. Font: Pobles de Catalunya

Artificial cave, man-made.... L'Aram... which means copper. Old site for the extraction of copper and iron, currently disused, with a depth of about 25 meters. The lower gallery is disabled. It does not represent danger.. Just caution...!!