Montblanc, Conca de Barberà

About the place:

Have you ever noticed the yellow windmills on the fields? During this route you among vegetable gardens, olive trees and forests you will find a few. They are curious elements in the middle of the landscape that serve for pumping the water for irrigating the fields.

A walk through tracks and rocky paths which will take you to the hermitage of Sant Josep, in Montblanc. And when finishing it will bring you back to the mediaeval town where you can search the door form where -as the legend says- Sant Jordi came out of the city after killing the dragon and saving to the princess.

Direction tips:

In Montblanc you have to take the church of Sant Francesc as a reference point. Once at the church, you have to take the avenue Manel Ribé following the indications "Ermita de sant Josep". You will have to take the fifth street to the left (with indicators towards the hermitage and the Mas Foraster). You are in the Sarral street. Park the car at the end of this street, exactly before arriving at the fence of the vineyards and the Mas Foraster.
The route on foot starts here.

You have to pass through the fences leaving the Mas Forasteron your the left. Continue some 100 meters at the paved way among vineyards until you bump into a dirt track with some stones on the left. Take this track. You will be bordering the hill until you arrive to a fork in "V" form; take the path beneed. In a few minutes you will pass between two yellow windmills. Continue towards the left leaving a house on your right. Little by little, passing a field of olive trees, the path starts to be narrower. At one point it will arrive to the point that you will almost have to go one in front of the other one. But after a short while the path ends into a larger way, where a zone with houses is located. You have to continue towards the left for. After passing the first house, just a few meters on your right side you will find a narrow and rocky path that rises a little. The path is in front of a field of olive trees. Now we start penetrating more into the forest and leave the fields.

Continue untill a hut of stone on your right. At this point you have to continue straight on (always upwards), abandoning the main path. The path will make a half turn towards the right until you find yourselves behind the hut of stone. You’ll be now covered by trees. After a while, you will arrive to a small fork. You can choose the direction that you like more, since both paths will bring you towards the same GR171 (Rojals - Montblanc). You will recognize the GR because it will be wider. Follow the direcation Montblanc on your right and immediately you will find on the rocks and trees the typical GR marks (2 lines in parallel: a red and a white one). You will pass a house and in a few minutes you will see the porch of the zone of leisure of the hermitage of Sant Josep in front of you. To arrive here it will take you around 1 hour.

After resting, you will continue your way to go back to Montblanc. So take the GR in directaion Montblanc. In 15 minutes you will arrive through a paved way again to the Mas Foraster and the Sarral street: beginning and end point of the route.

The best season:

winter, autumn, summer, spring

Timetable:

All the year. From Easter the point of information and the bar at the hermitage are open.

Lunch tips:

Even though you can arrive to the Montblanc’s area of leisure of the hermitage of Sant Josep can by car, it is more pleasant to go on foot and to have like this the sensation that we have earned our lunch. The picnic zone and barbecues that we will find are a good reward. Besides a bar with drinks, ice cream, coffees and sandwiches, there is football zone, water sources and toilets. Even though the picnic zone and the football fields are accessible all the year, the other services (included the the barbecues) open up from Easter on. In season the users should pay for the maintenance of the space. The fare for a table, wood and fire is 2,55€ for an adult. If you only need the table, it will cost 1,25€ for an adult and 0,75€ for the kids.

A nice space to stay a while with the kids.

More info:

Difficulty: easy (unevenness of 150 m)
Type: circular route (aprox. 3 km)
Duration: aprox. 1h15 min
Accessibility: dirt tracks and paths with rocky zones (they are not accessible for prams nor wheelchairs).
Recommendations: for cold days take coats with you; whith good weather, use lighter clothes; use  good footwear and take water with you.Especially when it has rained ther can be a lot of mud in some zones of the path and therefore it is recommended to bring suitable footwear.

Photo: © ExploraTgn.cat