Sakya Tashi Ling Buddhist Monastery at Palau Novella

Palau Novella is the last thing you expect to find as you climb the bends of the Garraf Park: a Modernista and neo-Gothic mansion from 1890, with towers and battlements, surrounded by pine forest and limestone. Since the 1990s it has been home to the Buddhist community Sakya Tashi Ling, which opens it to the public Wednesday to Sunday with guided visits. It is about 10 km from Sitges, on avinguda de Plana Novella, inside what is now called Colònia Agrícola Plana Novella.

A ruined indiano and an agricultural colony

According to Sitges tourism, the house was designed by Manuel Comas for Pere Domènech, a man from Sitges who had made a fortune in the Americas and lost it to phylloxera. The estate began as an agricultural colony, and from that time the chapel remains, which the community has kept. The monks explain that history during the visit, and the part of Buddhist philosophy that brought them here.

What you see in the 45 minutes

The guided visit goes through the building inside:

• The Golden Room, with the original Modernista decoration, where the former owners held parties.
• The chapel, the typical piece of the agricultural colonies, now integrated into the monastery.
• The Room of the Buddhas, with religious images representing mental qualities that are cultivated through meditation.

Outside there are stupas in the garden. Meditating in them is a separate experience, booked separately, like the meditation room.

Sessions, opening hours and price

The monastery opens Wednesday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:00, and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 9:30 to 18:00. It is closed Monday and Tuesday. Guided-visit sessions are few on weekdays: Wednesday to Friday, only at 12:00; at weekends and public holidays, at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 17:00.

General admission costs €9. The reduced rate, €7, is for children aged 5 to 12, pensioners, large and single-parent families, people with disabilities, university students and teachers. It is bought on its website. Visits are in Spanish; groups of six or more can request Catalan, English or French.

Eating at Plana Novella

The colony's restaurant serves traditional cooking Wednesday to Sunday and public holidays, from 13:00 to 16:00, with booking from its website. It is the way to avoid having to go down to the coast at midday: you do the 12:00 or the 13:00 session and eat there.

You can only get there by car

There is no public transport. From Garraf or from Sitges you climb along the park roads to Plana Novella; expect bends and little traffic except on Sundays. If you come by train to Garraf, the monastery is out of walking reach in a morning. Combined with an afternoon at les Casetes beach or with the Sunday in Garraf of beach huts, coves and rice, it makes a full day.