Walking Up to Queralt from Berga

What it is

It is Berga's classic outing: walking up from the town to the Queralt sanctuary, at 1,156 m, and coming down by the old Drecera path. It is a 5.5 km circular walk with 426 m of cumulative ascent and about 2 h 20 without stops: 1 h 20 up through the shaded north side and an hour down. It has no technical difficulty, but some stretches climb steeply. What you enjoy most is the change of woodland, from the beech wood on the north face to the Mediterranean woodland of the Drecera, and the view from the top, which on clear days reaches Montserrat and the Montseny.

The route step by step

1. Plaça de Sant Francesc (0:00, 730 m), next to the 14th-century Franciscan convent. Set off north along Carrer Pinsania, following PR waymarks.
2. BV-4241 road (0:10, 781 m), the one to Sant Llorenç de Morunys. Cross it and take the tarmac shortcut; soon the waymarks turn left along a path that climbs straight up to the Balcó del Berguedà housing estate. Follow Carrer Montseny to the right and turn right again with the white and yellow waymarks.
3. BV-4242 road (0:25, 866 m), the one to Queralt. Cross it and continue a few metres along the path with a wooden handrail. Pass the Hostal del Guiu, a former cement mill, and take the path on the left with yellow dots. On the right is the picnic area of the Mossèn Guiu spring.
4. Climb through the shaded north side: dense pine forest, with green and white waymarks and yellow dots. You cross the road several times, pass the hermitage of the Sagrada Família and the chapel of Sant Antoni, and enter the beech wood.
5. Sanctuary car park (1:15, 1,127 m) and, up the steps, the Queralt sanctuary (1:20, 1,156 m). Next to the sanctuary there is a fountain, the last one on the route.
6. Descent by the Drecera (from 1:40, 1,123 m): a sign in the car park marks the path, which follows the PR-C 73. You go down a well-marked path, paved in places, past the chapels of Dolors, Sant Jaume and Sant Jacint.
7. Back to Berga: on reaching the Queralt road you retrace the housing estate section and Carrer Pinsania back to Plaça de Sant Francesc (2:20).

Waymarking

White and yellow PR-C 73 waymarks and green and white waymarks, plus yellow dots on the climb. The paths are easy to follow. The reference map is Rasos de Peguera – Serra d'Ensija 1:25,000 from Editorial Alpina.

Where to park

To avoid the narrow streets of Berga, leave the car on Passeig de la Indústria: take the Berga centre exit and, at the roundabout, continue along Carrer Vila de Casserres. From there, along Ronda Moreta, Plaça del Dr. Saló, Plaça de Sant Pere and Carrer Sant Francesc you reach the start in a few minutes, crossing the old town.

By bus, ALSA links Barcelona and Manresa with Berga, and Sagalés links Solsona and Vic with Berga.

When to go

All year. In summer, set off early: the climb is in the shade of the forest, but the descent by the Drecera is sunnier. In autumn the Queralt beech wood changes colour. In winter there may be ice on the shaded stretches.

Water, shade and services

There is water at the Mossèn Guiu spring and at the sanctuary's; there is no more. At the top, next to the sanctuary, there is a restaurant. Shade is good on the climb and scarce on the descent.

With children and a dog

Rutas Pirineos proposes it as a family outing. Children used to walking do it well; if they get tired, you can go up and down the same side or pick them up by car at the sanctuary car park. With a dog, on a lead at the road crossings.

If the weather changes

In a storm, don't stay on the sanctuary esplanade: it is a high, exposed spot. In rain, the paving of the Drecera is slippery; go down slowly or return through the shaded north side.