The best cycling routes around Fogars de la Selva

It looks as if we were some centuries back in time!

Before the telephone, radio, or internet, messages could also travel at high speed. This tower was part of a 19th-century optical telegraph network: from the top, a system of mechanical signals was observed with telescopes from the next tower, which repeated the message to the following one. Thus, information could cover enormous distances without anyone having to transport it physically. And here comes the curious part: Puigmarí was just one link in a real chain of towers that communicated Barcelona with the French border. From here, visual contact had to be maintained with the neighboring towers. If you reach it, look at the landscape and try to locate where the next one could be seen from. Suddenly you understand why they built the tower exactly here and not a hundred meters lower. A kind of 19th-century internet, but with towers, telescopes, and signals.

Montsoriu Castle (in Catalan Castell de Montsoriu) is considered the most important Gothic castle in Catalonia and is one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in the entire Mediterranean region. Perched at an altitude of 633 meters within the Montseny Natural Park, it is located on the border between the municipalities of Arbúcies and Sant Feliu de Buixalleu, in the province of Girona, Spain

Sant Martí de Montnegre Una església aïllada dins del Parc Natural del Montnegre, de gran valor per la seva integració en el paisatge forestal. És un punt de referència en les rutes de l'interior.

The river here isn't channeled: it expands, dries up, or overflows depending on the season, creating a changing landscape of riparian forest and gravel. It's a great place to understand how a real Mediterranean river works and to ride at a leisurely pace, letting the terrain and surroundings set the rhythm.

Fortress never taken by assault, only by blockade, with a system of mine tunnels more extensive than it seems and 18th century bastions hiding under a medieval appearance. The covered path that surrounds it is one of the best preserved in Catalonia and recalls its key role in the wars, when Hostalric was considered the “key to the north” of the country. A short point to see but with a lot of hidden history.

Considered one of the most powerful in medieval Catalonia, but there is a little-known detail: on the hill there was a system of cisterns and underground channels that collected rainwater and brought it to the inner courtyard, which was essential because there is no fountain at the top. Remains of ceramic kilns used during the expansion works in the 14th century have also been found, indicating that some of the material was manufactured directly on the mountain to avoid endless climbs with pack animals. All of this fits with its function as a control center for Montseny, visible from many points, with the Repiaix stream rising on its slopes and the geodesic vertex crowning it. A truly strategic peak.

You will find all the necessary information at the Arbúcies museum