The best walks and hikes around Castell De L'Areny

Vila de Vilada is on the C26 road from Ripoll to Berga, the Pirinenc axis. It is a quiet place with good views of the Valley and places to get refreshments.

A small town in which you can find a church and some houses. It has amazing views of the valley, and many hiking trails start from here.

Short equipped step that allows you to safely overcome a barely vertical jump of about 15 meters in the beech forest between the Font del Tudó and the Taleia pass, the eastern section of the path that runs through the cliffs of Malanyeu. The passage has thin steel cable on the wall and the remains of a rustic log walkway that make the way easier. It doesn't seem very useful to carry stuff to be sure, but there is an option to do so. They told me that a dog that roamed freely in the area one day scared a flock of sheep and one by one they went scurrying down the cliff. The matter ended up in court and the owner of the dog had to pay a good compensation. Perhaps this incident also led to the arrangement of the passage to make it accessible.

Bauma de Crisp, the deepest part is not very wide but the outer part is open and extends both directions. It can serve as a shelter in case of need.

La Foradada rock outcrop (1325 m), a small opening that we can cross to enjoy the same panorama, which can be seen once past the grade but, in a more spectacular way, overlooking the cliff above the valley of Malanyeu (you have to go with caution) on a balcony that invites you to sit and contemplate. A place that leaves you speechless.

The church is first documented at the end of the 10th century in the act of consecration of La Seu d'Urgell. In 1077 the counts of Cerdanya ceded to the monastery of Ripoll some lands in Malenyeu and La Nou. A year later, Viscount Udalard I of Besalú and his wife Ermessendis made a new transfer of property located in the place of Malanyeu in the Ripollen monastery. The church, however, continued under the control of the bishopric of Urgell. In 1312 the church appears like parochial in a pastoral visit to the deanery of the Berguedà. Already in the 18th century it had lost this condition, becoming a suffragan of Sant Martí de la Nou. The temple consists of a single nave covered with a barrel vault. This nave is topped on the east by a semicircular apse. The apse, made of cornered but unpolished ashlars arranged in regular rows, is externally decorated with a frieze of blind arches. Later both the head and the nave were raised. We cannot see the whole apse because it is partially hidden by the rectory. In the central part of the apse drum, a half-pointed, double-slit window opened, which was blinded when the baroque altarpiece in the presbytery was placed and has recently been restored. Also in the 18th century a chapel was added on the north side of the temple and the bell tower. The temple is accessed through an open door in the west wall, formed by two arches in gradation and followed externally by a dust cover.

the Graell de Cal Pigot or Griell, according to the map of Editorial Alpina, is a grade with equipped parts that allows us to save the cliff of Malanyeu, also called the Feixadeta. Go along the left bank, in the direction of travel, of the Rec del Griell which in this section forms a canal with some jumps. The first stepped section we find a knotted rope to overcome it, especially not to slip, as it is usually very wet. We overcome the second section with the help of a moving metal ladder that has known better times. Once this is over, the canal closes and does not allow progress, providentially we see that the wall on the right is perforated and invites us to cross it. In fact there is no other option. Once on the other side we are inside the canal where the Rec that forms a waterfall goes down, being careful not to put our feet in it, we turn right helping ourselves with our hands around the spur that forms the rock perforated until it reaches a small relief. We face the waiting half climbing until we reach the top of the cliff. Depending on the rainfall regime we will have more or less risk of getting wet.

Spectacular step to access the vault of the cliffs of Malanyeu. Equipped with a chain and a ladder has no more problem than the impression given by the location of the step. Especially curious is the exit, crossing a hole in the rock, coming out under a small waterfall and continuing to the right almost on foot in the water. Recommended outside in rainy weather or when it is wet or with snow or ice.