Exceptional Winter Landscapes in Catalonia

Catalonia has a variety of diverse and incredible landscape variety. From north to south and from east to west we find beaches, mountains, rivers and valleys, all of which make the four provinces of the autonomous community a marvel to witness. Many of these landscapes are beautiful to visit any time of the year, but in winter, with the arrival of cold and snow they become even more beautiful. If you’re someone who enjoys the cold weather, and you want to take advantage of a weekend or a winter holiday to discover all that the region’s natural areas have to offer, the ShBarcelona team would like to recommend some exceptional winter landscapes in Catalonia.

Related article: Discover La Vall d’Aran

The beauty of winter

Photo via Pixabay

If you are a lover of the mountains, we can assure you that any area of the Catalan Pyrenees is spectacular in the winter. However, if there is one place that has non-stop beauty it’s the Parc Nacional d’Aigües Tortes i Estany de Sant Maurici. This national park is situated in the middle of the four Catalan Pyrenees: Alta Ribagorça, Vall d’Aran, Pallars Jussà y Pallars Sobirà. The major distinctions between the areas allow you to enjoy a diversity of ecosystems offered in the Catalan mountains. It’s a unique protected space in Southern Spain with summits of over 3,000 meters and bodies of water of all sizes, forms and colors. You can see waterfalls, rivers, swamps and a variety of exceptional species of animals and plants. In the winter, the snow covers the highest peaks and some of the lower-level lakes become frozen over. A magical place where you can enjoy the beauty of the region in its purest form through its perfectly marked hiking trails. Another exceptionally beautiful landscape in Catalonia can be found in the volcanic natural park Garrotxa. You can walk through the legendary forests shadowed by the colors of the volcanic lands and discover waterfalls and fairytale villages.

Photo via Pixabay

There are diverse trails throughout a variety of landscapes that allow you to discover la Garrotxa, but there is an essential spot that deserves a visit during the winter in the region of Fageda d’en Jordà. This is one of 28 natural reserves of parks and growths of the volcanoes forming a forest, a unique spot in Spain. Its colors and light are worthy of admiration and if you’re a landscape photography aficionado you can’t take one good photo, because each corner is more beautiful than the next. Right in the center of Catalonia there is a landscape with an unmistakable presence: the mountain of Montserrat. This gorgeous area features a monastery that is also beautiful to visit, but the actual mountain trails are also spectacular when the snow covers the mountain’s peaks. Montserrat offers jagged mountains that will take your breath away when you see them with your eyes. Although you can head up to the mountain by car, taking the funicular that will bring you to the monastery has much more charm and is much more of a memorable way to take in the best of the mountain views. Typically, when we talk about winter landscapes we think about snow and mountains, but there are regions on the Catalan coast where you can enjoy the winter in the most peaceful way possible. Doing the old trail from Cadaqués to the Cap de Creus takes about an hour and a half to walk, during which you can admire the beauty of the peaks, the solitary coves and the stunning tones of blue and green of the ocean.

Do you like to discover new winter landscapes?