Tavertet, a secret between cliffs

It is convenient to get up early to appreciate in all its dimension the spectacular location of the town of Tavertet (Barcelona).

A sea of ​​clouds fills the valley created by the cliffs of the

and hides the

.

As the morning progresses, the mists dissipate and the rocky circus presided over by this stone village emerges, at an altitude of 900 meters and in which barely 48 souls reside.

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Located about 30 kilometers from Vic, and about 100 from Barcelona and Girona, Tavertet is located in the small sub-region of Collsacabra, between

and La Garrotxa.

In the 18th century it was the territory of bandits, it is said that the popular Joan de Serrallonga wandered through these lands and hid in the numerous and characteristic caves in the area.

The town was kept isolated by road until the sixties of the last century, when the road that spans 13 kilometers of steep curves was built and today it remains its only access for vehicles.

Perhaps its current, neat and orderly appearance, with a homogeneous urbanism, is the result of its privileged and isolated location.

Some 40 original houses from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are preserved, most with names of trades, which are distributed through the three historic streets of the town,

,

and

streets

-with geographical

, to which The

,

and

, the latter running parallel to the cliffs that provides an exceptional view of

and the reservoir of the same name.

Very close is the viewpoint, ideal to let the view wander while one is surrounded by a deep silence.

There you can understand why the philosopher Raimon Panikkar (1918-2010) chose this place to spend the last years.

enlarge photo The urban center of Tavertet preserves 40 original houses from the 17th and 18th centuries.

jackF Getty

Its origin is remote;

, was already documented in 1070 and preserves a beautiful Gothic alabaster carving of Santa María.

Belatedly converted into a municipality of tourist interest - its urban nucleus is well of cultural interest - until a couple of decades ago the sheep walked through its streets and you could buy large round loaves that lasted tender for several days and bread crusts with sugar that they sold by the meter and they tasted like glory.

Today there is very little trade left, it has been replaced by several rural accommodations and a few restaurants serving delicious local cuisine.

Some of them have been opened to make a dream come true, such as L'Horta (931 03 50 05), with a daring and modern menu;

(938 56 52 07) and others, such as the historic

(938 56 50 83), which bets on traditional dishes such as duck with pears or sausage with white beans, to follow a family tradition.

enlarge photo Cova Fernández

The best walking routes

The entire term of Tavertet is characterized by steep and winding orography.

Its valleys, narrow and deep, and its cliffs, slender and haughty, follow one another without interruption in all directions.

Due to this particular geography, the small streams that form in the rainy season descend to form spectacular waterfalls.

Throughout this conglomeration of rocks and forest there are enclaves where the water forms singular cascades of overwhelming beauty, although some of them only flow at certain times of the year (with the rains and thaw), such as the Molí-Bernat waterfall, located at just three kilometers from the town;

or the

or

, created by two small streams and with a drop of about 100 meters in height.

One of the most recommended routes is to follow the

, with impressive views along 3.3 kilometers.

Also the one that leads to the

, located on top of a small hill, and that of

and

, considered one of the most beautiful Romanesque examples in the Osona region.

Overview of the L'Avenc hotel.

Scattered throughout the territory are

;

that of

, located on the road between the town and Rupit, is one of the most notable in the region.

It dates from the 13th century and at the beginning of the 16th a Gothic-Renaissance manor was added.

Today it is a beautiful hotel whose stay is worth the trip, and which is reached after traveling about three kilometers along a small unpaved road that starts from Tavertet.

L'Avenc has a beautiful recent history starring the brothers Matthew and Belinda Parris and her husband, Joaquim Abey, who in the nineties discovered this ruined manor house during an excursion and decided to buy it to turn it into a rural and wellness accommodation that works with sustainable criteria and that has been proposed as a mission to enhance its environment and take care of it with dedication.

It has about 20 rooms, studios, four rural houses, the historic farmhouse with several rooms and an indoor pool.

In front of it, impressive cliffs open up that are a viewpoint of the Sau reservoir from which the majestic flight of raptors can be observed.

Belinda proudly recounts that in recent years different species of vultures, new flowers and butterflies have been seen in the area that have returned.

In L'Avenc they generate 50% of the electrical energy they consume and also manage an area of ​​300 hectares next to the Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera where several routes can be made on foot.

Back in Tavertet, we take the road and at the first bend, with the sun already setting, we leave behind the silhouette of the rooftops of this postcard town that well deserves to be on one of those lists of the most beautiful towns in Spain.

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