Volcanoes, a beech forest growing on lava and stone villages, 15 to 30 minutes from Casa de Canadell. A short guide to planning your days, written from the farmhouse.
Casa de Canadell is in Sant Joan les Fonts, between Olot and Castellfollit de la Roca, inside the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park. Protected since 1982, the park has more than 40 volcanic cones and over 20 lava flows.
Times are approximate, by car from the farmhouse. Most places in this guide are less than half an hour away, so you can be back for lunch or a swim.
Three lava flows on the river Fluvià and a Romanesque monastery.
A village perched on a basalt cliff.
Romanesque bridge, Jewish quarter and mikveh.
The county town, with a volcano in the middle of it.
A flat beech forest growing on a lava flow.
A crater with a chapel at the bottom and the largest volcanic cone in Iberia.
Medieval village with an arcaded square.
All three are on the Olot to Santa Pau road, 25 to 30 minutes from the house, and fit into a single day.
A beech forest on flat ground at just 550 metres, growing on the Croscat lava flow, which is what makes it so exceptional. It is a nature reserve. The Joan Maragall trail, 1.5 km there and back, starts from the Can Serra car park, which is pay-and-display. In autumn the beeches turn copper; in spring, a soft green.
A round crater almost 350 metres across with the chapel of Santa Margarida de Sacot at the bottom, Romanesque in origin and rebuilt in 1865 after the 15th-century earthquakes. Access is from the Santa Margarida area on the same road.
At 160 metres it is the largest volcanic cone in the Iberian Peninsula, according to the park, and it erupted about 11,500 years ago. The quarry-face trail, about 3 km and under an hour, shows the inside of the volcano, exposed when gravel was extracted from it.
The village sits on top of a basalt cliff more than 40 metres high and almost a kilometre long, formed by two lava flows and carved by the Fluvià and Toronell rivers. At the very top is the Plaça de Josep Pla viewpoint. 15 minutes from the house.
You enter over the Romanesque bridge, with seven arches and a tower. In the Jewish quarter is the mikveh, the ritual baths discovered in 1964: one of only three found in the Iberian Peninsula. The tourist office runs guided visits all year round. 20 minutes away.
La Garrotxa’s county town has a volcano in the middle of it, Montsacopa, with the chapel of Sant Francesc and a 360-degree view; you walk up from the cemetery. There is also Espai Cràter, inside the Puig del Roser volcano, the Garrotxa Museum and the weekly market on Mondays. 20 minutes away.
A protected old quarter with the arcaded main square, the Firal dels Bous, and the barons’ castle. It is home to Santa Pau beans, which have their own protected designation of origin. 30 minutes away, beyond the Fageda.
Stone villages at the foot of Puigsacalm, beyond Olot. El Mallol and Els Hostalets d'en Bas are listed historic ensembles, and Joanetes is known for its living nativity scene.
The village of the house: three stacked lava flows at the Molí Fondo, a Romanesque monastery, the fortified house of Juvinyà and the Canadell Tower, 500 metres from the farmhouse.
Park trail 16 starts from the main square in Sant Joan les Fonts and passes three stacked lava flows at the Molí Fondo. It is an easy loop of about 5.7 km.
The trail is currently closed at Fontfreda, where the water washed away the stepping stones across the river. The Boscarró quarry and the Molí Fondo viewpoint can still be visited. Check the current status on the park website before you go.
Over 50 km from Olot to Girona along the old railway line, on compacted gravel and for walkers and cyclists only. The high point is the Coll d'en Bas, at about 600 metres; from there to Girona it is almost all downhill.
The Fageda d'en Jordà first thing, before it fills up. Lunch in Santa Pau and, in the afternoon, the Santa Margarida crater or the Croscat quarry trail. It is all on the Olot to Santa Pau road.
Castellfollit de la Roca, 15 minutes away, then Besalú, 20. The mikveh can be seen on the Besalú tourist office’s guided visits. In the afternoon, the pool or the fireside back at the house, depending on the season.
Montsacopa first thing, for the view over the town and the volcanoes. Then Espai Cràter and the Garrotxa Museum. If it is a Monday, the weekly market.
The Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park has more than 40 volcanic cones and over 20 lava flows across some 15,000 hectares. The most visited are Santa Margarida, Croscat and Montsacopa, in Olot.
At the Can Serra area on the Olot to Santa Pau road, which is pay-and-display. The Joan Maragall trail, 1.5 km there and back, starts there. On autumn weekends it fills up early, so it is worth going first thing.
A weekend covers the essentials: a day for the volcanoes and the Fageda, and a morning for Castellfollit and Besalú. With three or four days you can add Olot, the Vall d'en Bas and a walk or two.
Espai Cràter and the Garrotxa Museum in Olot; the fortified house of Juvinyà in Sant Joan les Fonts, which is open to visitors; or the Besalú mikveh on a guided visit. And at Casa de Canadell, the fireplace and the games room downstairs.
Somewhere central, so you do not drive too far each day. Casa de Canadell is in Sant Joan les Fonts, 15 minutes from Castellfollit, 20 from Olot and Besalú and 25 from the Fageda d'en Jordà. It is a farmhouse rented whole, to one group at a time.
Yes. Inside the Natural Park, including the Fageda, dogs must be kept on a lead. Dogs are welcome at Casa de Canadell: just let us know when you book.
Sources, checked on 31/10/2026: Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, Garrotxa Tourism, Olot town council and Wikipedia (Catalan). Opening hours, fees and trail conditions may change, so check the official websites before you go.