geocalia
Day itinerary · 42.10° N · 1.85° E
A hundred kilometres of bends between Berga and a pass at almost 1,900 metres, with stops at La Pobla de Lillet and Castellar de n'Hug, and an inn lunch on the way back.
Part of BergaCatalan Pre-PyreneesPyreneesScenic train journeys in SpainHorse riding routes in Spain
The plan
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
via the C-16, with one toll
50 km uphill · coffee in La Pobla de Lillet · Castellar de n'Hug · photo at the pass at 1,921 m
Cal Pericas, in La Pobla de Lillet, on the way down · festive-day menu · closed Mondays · booking required
Furrioles Altes, 2, La Pobla de Lillet · +34 938 236 162
Half an hour to stretch your legs
You arrive around 18:30
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
The road climbs with the Llobregat alongside as far as La Pobla de Lillet and there it changes character: linked bends among pines as far as Castellar de n'Hug and then open meadows up to the pass. At the top you stop, look and go back down the way you came, which downhill is a different road. It is a one-day route, unhurried, with three stops worth making and a mountain lunch at the end.
Barcelona – Berga. The C-16 dual carriageway is the link stretch, an hour and twenty with one toll. Fill the tank in Berga before going on: it is the last large town before the pass.
Berga – La Pobla de Lillet. You follow the C-16 north to Guardiola de Berguedà and there turn towards La Pobla de Lillet, with the Llobregat river alongside. It is a valley road, wide with open bends, good for warming up the tyres. In La Pobla, a coffee and a leg stretch: in the village are the Jardins Artigas, designed by Gaudí, and the departure station of the Tren del Ciment.
La Pobla de Lillet – Castellar de n'Hug. Here the good part begins: the BV-4031 narrows and climbs, chaining bends through forest. Before reaching the village, beside the road, is the Clot del Moro, with the ruins of the Asland cement factory, which worked from 1904 to 1975 and is now a museum and a protected historic monument. Castellar de n'Hug is at 1,450 metres, inside the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park, and is one of the highest inhabited villages in Catalonia.
The Llobregat Springs. Just below the village, at 1,300 metres, the river is born. You walk down from the car park at the village entrance along a stepped path with a wooden handrail; there is also a signposted turning to get there by car from the La Pobla road. The water comes out of the limestone in cascades, and in spring, with the thaw, the flow is impressive. Allow half an hour for the way down, the viewpoint and the way back.
Castellar de n'Hug – Coll de la Creueta. The road continues towards La Molina and leaves the forest: open meadows, long bends and views in every direction. The pass, at 1,921 metres, separates the Berguedà from the Cerdanya and the Ripollès. To the south you see all of central Catalonia; to the north, the Pyrenees. In summer there are flocks of sheep, cows and horses grazing on the road and around it, and with luck marmots and chamois: slow down at every blind bend.
The descent. You return the same way to Berga, with a stop for lunch in La Pobla de Lillet. With the sun at your back and the road already known, the descent is enjoyed differently.
A table booked for two at Cal Pericas, in La Pobla de Lillet, on the way down. It has been a family eating house since 1856, in the centre of the village, between the Pont Vell and the Pont de la Petita, with the large dining room over the Llobregat. Slow-cooked Catalan food: stews, surf and turf, mushrooms in spring and autumn and game dishes. At weekends and holidays the kitchen is open from 13:30 to 15:30, and closed on Mondays. Order the holiday menu, €21 with dessert, bread, water and wine: whoever is driving should stick to the water. It has no car park of its own, but there is a free one a few minutes' walk away. Book by phone or WhatsApp, and wait for them to answer: until then the table is not confirmed.
After that, about half an hour of road to Berga and half an hour on foot through the old town to stretch your legs before the dual carriageway. If you prefer to eat in Berga, La Cabana opens at midday Wednesday to Sunday. If you want to stay the night, Berga and La Pobla de Lillet have accommodation: ask when booking where to leave the bikes.
The route works well with a passenger. The stops at La Pobla, the Clot del Moro and the springs break the day into short stretches. With older children, the Tren del Ciment links La Pobla de Lillet with the Clot del Moro in about 20 minutes and 3.5 km; check its running days before setting out.
Where to eat
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
What to order: the holiday menu; in autumn, its mushroom dishes and the venison civet.
What to order: the mountain rice with black butifarra, cod and mushrooms, and for a main course the pig snout and ear with black peas.
What to try
Map
With where to park at each one.
Getting there
When to go
From May to October. In July and August go up early: at midday there are cars and cyclists. From November to April there may be ice and snow at the pass.
Tips
Further up the petrol pumps are few. Leave Berga with a full tank.
The pass is at 1,921 metres. Outside summer, check for snow, ice and wind with the Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya.
After winter, sand remains on the shaded bends. Take the first climb gently.
In the meadows at the pass, sheep, cows and horses graze in summer. There may be one behind every bend.
On Sundays the inns fill up. Say how many you are and ask where to leave the bikes.
Sundays in August at midday. The road fills with cars, cyclists and campervans, and loses its appeal.
Questions
About 300 between outward journey, route and return. Allow nine hours with stops and lunch.
1,921 metres, in the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park, between the Berguedà, the Cerdanya and the Ripollès.
Yes. It is a mountain road with bends, but with no technical passages; what it asks for is attention, not power.
We do not recommend it. There may be ice in the shaded stretches and snow at the pass.
The Gaudí Jardins Artigas in La Pobla de Lillet, the Asland Cement Museum at the Clot del Moro, Castellar de n'Hug and the Llobregat Springs.
In Berga or La Pobla de Lillet there is accommodation; ask about a garage or shed for the motorbike.
More plans like this
geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/berga/itineraries/bergueda-motorbike-route
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/berga/itineraries/bergueda-motorbike-route
