Day 542 - 08/04/2015 : Monsacopa Volcano in Olot

The city of Olot spreads out around the base of one of La Garrotxa’s best known vol­ca­noes –Montsacopa– and climb­ing its slopes is a per­fect way to redis­cover nature with­out actu­ally leav­ing the city. Also known as Sant Francesc, this vol­cano is a reminder of the land­scape that sur­rounds you in this sur­pris­ing comarca and one of the best van­tage points over Olot.

Once you have vis­ited the streets and squares of the old cen­tre of Olot, take time out to climb one of the sym­bols of this city – the vol­cano Montsacopa or Sant Francesc – whose out­line with church and watch tow­ers looms char­ac­ter­is­ti­cally behind the old city. It is only acces­si­ble on foot, but it is worth climb­ing for the view alone, and vis­i­tors should also take a turn around the lip of its crater and enjoy the 360º view of other points of inter­est in Olot – the vol­ca­noes Gar­ri­nada and Aiguane­gra and the peaks of Bassegoda and Mare de Déu del Mont in the dis­tance to the east. The church of Sant Francesc was built at the end of the Penin­sula War in the 19^th cen­tury on the site of a mil­i­tary build­ing, while the watch tow­ers date from the era of the Car­line Wars, also in the 19^th century.

Enjoy !