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This route starts in La Jonquera (110 m above see level) at
the first roundabout that you find on the road to Cantallops. Immediately
after taking this road, you leave behind the traffic and the trucks and
you enter a much quieter world. The tarmac road winds a
little, is about 5 meters wide and quite steep for the first 2 km. Then
you start a descent with only very gentle climbs until you reach the
village of Cantallops (200 m above see level) at km 6 of the route.
When you enter the village, you immediately see the sign-post for Castell
de Requesens (The Castle of Requesens), and this is the direction you should
take. You cross the whole village and when you find the cooperative La
Concordia, a mutual benefit society which is about to celebrate its 150
anniversary and which is now also a bar, a restaurant and a social club
for the village, you turn to the left (keep following the sign-posts).
After some 500 m you will start your climb to the Castle. Once you have
ridden past an agricultural cooperative called Els Aspres, a wine producer,
the asphalted road comes to an end and turns into a mud track, which is
wide enough for two cars, but which is in quite a bad state and quite
stony at some stretches. Take care if it has been raining, because it also
becomes quite muddy in some places. The track continues upwards and offers
beautiful views of the village of Cantallops and of the plain of
L’Empordà. On a clear day, you have beautiful panoramic views of the
wide Bay of Roses.
When your milometer tells you that you have reached km 9.40 of the
route, you will be reaching the so-called Coll de Medàs (392 m above see
level). Here a stop and a short walk are strongly recommended just to see
three dolmens that can be found nearby. One of these dolmens (the one that
you find on the left hand side, 100 m away from the track) in a very good
state, especially if you consider that it is more than 4,700 years old
according to the information on the sign-post. After the Coll de Medàs
you enter a protected area in the Parc Natural de L’Albera. You come
across a gate that you may open and ride through. However, you are asked
to close the gate behind you so that the native Alberan cows, which you
will certainly find further on, do not escape. Once in the protected area,
the road continues with no steep slopes until you reach a crossroads at km
12.20 of the route.
At the crossroads, you have the choice whether to continue on up to the
Castle, which is 1.15 km away from the crossroads, or up to the little
hamlet of Requesens, which is 1.65 km away. Both tracks are quite steep
and quite difficult to ride up, not only because they are steep but also
because their surfaces are in rather a bad state. The Castle dates back to
the 11th century and has been enlarged and restored on several
occasions. The last work took place at the beginning of the 20th
century. The castle is open to visitors at week-ends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
at a reasonable entrance fee of only 2 €. If you take the track to the
hamlet of Requesens, at about 500 m before you reach the hamlet) you will
pass a track on the right which leads to Puigneulós (1,256 m), the
highest peak in the Serra de l’Albera. Once in the hamlet of Requesens
(511 m), you can eat at La Cantina, the only restaurant in the area, which
is in the old stables of the main farm. At one end of the hamlet, you will
also find a fountain and a stone table which seats about eight people.
From Requesens you can see the Castle and enjoy a magnificent view of the
plain of the Empordà.
Once you reach Requesens, you come to the end of the track and to the end
of the climb. Then, you will ride back downhill as far as the turning
which leads to the Castle. Just before the track to the Castle starts
going upwards, you take a good track to the right. This track will take
you down a pretty route for 12.20 km through the Serra de l’Albera to
the village of Sant Climent Sescebes (82 m). It is a wild, well
sign-posted track which will turn into a narrow but asfalted
road on reaching Vilartolí de Dalt, a hamlet which is about 1 km
from the village of Sant Climent.
You can bring your route to an end at the Casino La Concordia, in the
main pedestrian walkway of Sant Climent, the Rambla, near the town hall.
You have covered 30 km on the whole route.
Translation into English : Sara Puigdemont and Vivien Greatorex
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