It’s not a coincidence that Montserrat it’s called the Magic Mountain. Its conglomerate rocks formations, its legends, and its history make it a unique Natural Park in the world. It’s a symbol for the Catalan people, and its located in the heart of Catalonia (30 minutes drive from Barcelona).

Photos and text by Gemma Pla

Historically, 50 million years ago, where now is the mountain, was a sea. And about 10 million years ago, the mountain emerged from the bottom of the sea with strong rudeness, and its reliefs were sculpted at the mercy of the winds, rains, and frosts until turning them into the spectacular scenery that we now admire

Monserrat is a strong spiritual symbol, whether you are religious or not. Throughout history, Montserrat has been a key place in a Catalan spiritual life. Its monasteries have housed hundreds of monks who lived ascetic lives, but also a very important enclave for pilgrims from all over Europe. Around the mountain were thirteen hermitages, most of them now converted into shelters.

Montserrat is also synonymous with outdoor sports, mostly climbing and hiking. Is one of the most important and historical scenarios for the climbing practice in the world, with more of 5600 climbing routes of different levels of difficulty and different modalities. An authentic dreamed paradise for those who love heights and ropes

Hiking has a long tradition in Montserrat and has always been a very special way to discover this mountain, its flora and fauna. With hundreds of routes, you can spend too many hours and days finding the most insolate rocks formations and its curious names, the different caves, hermitages, shelters, viewpoints, magic corners, and much more.

Would you like to see the magic in its purest form?