41.65° N · 1.81° E · Montserrat
A guided ride on the north face of Montserrat from a western riding and natural horsemanship ranch. Western saddle, small groups and calm horses, also for those who have never ridden.
Part of MontserratScenic train journeys in SpainHorse riding routes in Spain
Who offers it
Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.
Step by step
The meeting point is the Natural Hipic estate itself, on the BV-1122. Arrive a few minutes early.
You set off with the guide along the natural park's tracks, with Montserrat ahead. The duration is agreed when you book.
You finish where you started. On the sunrise outing, breakfast awaits at 8:30.
Montserrat seen from the saddle, with no queues or rack railway: a relaxed ride through the meadows and tracks at the foot of the mountain.
It is a guided horse outing leaving from Natural Hipic, a western riding and natural horsemanship ranch in Castellbell i el Vilar, on the north face of Montserrat. You ride in a western saddle, wider and more enveloping than the English one, and follow the guide at a walk along the tracks of the Montserrat Mountain Natural Park, with the conglomerate pinnacles ahead. It is not a lesson or a sporting route: it is a ride for looking at the mountain from a place few people pass.
The ranch works with small groups, of one to four people according to its excursions page. The horses are broken in with natural horsemanship, which aims for the animal to cooperate calmly, and that shows on a ride with beginners.
For people who have never ridden and for those who already do: the website says they have rides for both and horses for any level. There are ponies for small children. It does not publish a minimum age or maximum weight, so tell them when you book the age, height and experience of each person, and they choose the horse and the outing.
If you are going with teenagers, western riding hooks them: the horse is guided with one hand and the ride has something of a western film about it.
The outings are paid by the hour. In May 2020 the website published that they ran Tuesday to Sunday mornings and cost €30 per hour, for groups of one to seven people. It is the only price it has published for the ride: today's and the duration that suits you best are confirmed by WhatsApp. According to that news item, there were no outings on Mondays.
In summer they offer sunrise horse riding: Tuesday to Sunday in June, July and August, you set off at 6:00, return at 8:00 and at 8:30 have breakfast at the ranch. In June 2021 it cost €75 per person, in groups of one to six. It is the way to ride without the heat and with the first light on the pinnacles; ask whether they are doing it this year.
By WhatsApp on 609 43 80 80, which is the channel the website asks for for excursions. Write a few days ahead, especially for weekends, because groups are small. Say how many of you there are, each person's experience, the day and time you prefer, and ask for the price, what is included and whether they lend a helmet.
You need a car. The ranch is on the BV-1122 road, km 0.45, on the outskirts of Castellbell i el Vilar: about 50 minutes from Barcelona and about 20 from Manresa. Look it up on Google Maps as Natural Hípic. From there, the Montserrat sanctuary is half an hour by car, via Monistrol, where you can leave the car and go up on the rack railway.
Five minutes from the ranch you have two local eateries: Cal Jaume, in Marganell, with Catalan cooking and views of the mountain, and the grill restaurant Can Ferreroles Nou, on the Marganell road. In the afternoon, go up to the sanctuary for the basilica and the Moreneta or the Els Degotalls Path. The whole plan is in Montserrat on horseback and by rack railway.
Who it's for
You want to see Montserrat from outside, calmly, and have never ridden or have not for a long time.
You are looking for galloping or a long multi-day route: ask beforehand, because the website only describes rides.
What to bring
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
It is what the ranch asks for and the quickest way to settle day, time and horse.
Outings are Tuesday to Sunday mornings: that leaves the afternoon to go up to the monastery.
The website only publishes 2020 and 2021 prices; confirm to avoid surprises.
Questions
No. The website says they have rides for beginners and horses for any level.
In May 2020 the website published €30 an hour. The current price is given to you by WhatsApp when you book.
There are ponies for the smallest. The website sets no minimum age: state it when you book.
Tuesday to Sunday mornings, according to its website. In summer, also at sunrise.
The website gives no public transport to the ranch, which is outside the village. Expect to go by car.
About half an hour by car to the sanctuary, via Monistrol, or 15 minutes to the Monistrol Vila rack railway.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/montserrat/things-to-do/horse-ride-castellbell
