As you know, the Tordera Route and Arbúcies stream (Tourdera) is an itinerary that follows the course of the Tordera River and the Arbúcies stream in practically its entirety, but there are also some links to the route from towns near the river, such as Gualba, Massanes, Breda or Vallgorguina. In this article, we present the case of Gualba.
To describe this itinerary from the beautiful village of Gualba, at the foot of the Montseny, we will give you a short description of the route from Gualba to La Batllòria, but keep in mind that you can do it in the opposite direction. The itinerary, which presents some very interesting points, is part of the old Gualba royal road.
The Gualba – La Batllòria section is an easy section, just over 6 kilometers long, which, in addition to sharing the route with the old Gualba royal road, also does so with the PR-C 211. Leaving Gualba, it is a mostly downhill walk to La Batllòria, from where, following the signs, you can reach the main itinerary of the Tordera route, or you can take the connecting itinerary towards Riells i Viabrea and Breda.
The start of the section takes place in the village of Gualba, specifically in Joan Ragué i Camps square, in front of the municipality’s town hall, where there is parking, various services and where you will also find the route panel. Very close by is the Can Figueres tourist information point, where they will inform you about whatever you need regarding Gualba.
On the corner of the square, in front of the town hall, you will find the first route tracking banner, which will indicate the way to leave the village and where you will see that cyclists and hikers will have to follow two different directions, to avoid problems with directions and traffic in the village streets. Throughout the itinerary, you will find tracking banners or milestones, which will allow you to follow the route and enjoy a good walk through the natural environment of the first foothills of Montseny. During the itinerary, do not deviate from the marked path and always respect the safety and nature respect recommendations. If you prefer, you can access the track of the route from the Wikiloc portal.
This section of the route, except for the first few meters leaving the village, is shared throughout its entire journey with hikers and bicycle users. In front of the Gualba town hall, you will find an information panel with the route details and the points of interest you will encounter. In total, it is 6.3 kilometers long, with an accumulated descent of 105 meters, so the difficulty is very low. At the beginning of the route, you will find a tracking banner that will indicate the way to follow, both if you are on a bicycle or on foot; it is less than 600 meters of route practically in parallel. You will see that a large part of the itinerary has a route shared with the Camí Ral de Gualba route and the PR-C 211, from the village to the train station, so the Tourdera tracking markers and this route coexist.
Once you leave the village, approximately in the area of the CAP (Primary Care Center), the route goes into a green area parallel to the stream. In the first section, you cross the Gualba stream, through an area of high landscape interest, passing through Les Cases Blanques and Can Joan Vernedes, on a forest track until you find the turnoff of the old royal road. At this moment, the path becomes a trail of considerable width, which crosses the Can Sivina torrent, via a footbridge with a railing, in a section of great attractiveness and well sheltered from the sun by the canopy of the trees.
Following the route, you will head towards the Rieral de la Barceloneta area, a whole section where the itinerary passes through forest tracks that connect different farmhouses (Can Pere Maimó, Vil·la Maria, Can Cortina, etc.), among which is the Can Pascual Restaurant, which also has a picnic area, or the Masferrer hotel, located at Can Masferrer. Therefore, it is a section of the route of high interest and where you will find some bar, picnic or hotel services. And, following the itinerary in the same direction, you will reach the BV-5115 road, in the access area to the Can Pla urbanization, where you will find a tracking banner that will indicate the way towards La Batllòria and the train station. At this point, you will also have the opportunity to head towards Gualba de Baix, which belongs to the same municipality of Gualba, and which is located next to the Tordera.
If you continue in the direction of La Batllòria, you will reach the Gualba train station, but you must take precautions as in parts of the route you will be circulating parallel to the BV-5115 road and the access road to the station. Once you arrive at the station, you will cross the train tracks via an underpass and, on the other side, following the signs, you will reach La Batllòria, which belongs to the municipality of Sant Celoni. At this point, you will also find different catering services.
We hope this connecting section is of interest to you and that you are encouraged to try it out, we look forward to seeing you! And if you want more information, consult the section file at this link, or if you want to do it in the opposite direction, consult the file from La Batllòria to Gualba.
