a0175 - Camí de la Ronda GR-92 - Palamós to Calella de Palafrugell - DAY 1

This three day linear coastal walking (and swimming!) activity that traverses what I think is the most beautiful part of the GR-92, El Camí de la Ronda between Palamós and Begur. The route passes via many small coves and beaches as well as the most stunning white fishing villages.

This route is for day one from Palamós to Callella de Palafrugell, a distance of 12km. Overnight accomodation can be an apartment, hotel or camping in Callella de Palafrugell.

Arriving at Palamós by bus, walk to Marina de Palamós leaving the town in a northerly direction picking up the GR-92 route that takes us to a small hamlet of fisherman’s houses in Cala Margarida. Take the road behind these houses into a pine forest and follow the path on top of the rocky coastline. At the Gros Cap bluffs there is a viewpoint overlooking Platja de la Fosca, A long sandy beach curving around cala de la Fosca and protected on it´s northern end by Castell de Sant Esteve de Mar where the trail continues along a paved path around the rocky headland into Cala S'Alguer, a collection of about ten whitewashed houses sitting on a pine tree shaded beach.

Leaving s'Alguer via a stone path through the small village and entering a forested trail around another headland takes the route to another wide cove called Platja de Castell where you can find Kayaking Costa Brava Castell. Follow the beach and pick up an ascending path parallel to the rocky headland where at the highest point is the ruins of Poblat Ibéric de Castell and a viewpoint looking down on Playa Cala Foradada. This tiny cove is theoretically only reachable via the sea but I did see some teenagers attempt a very steep path down from the top!

After the Poblat Ibéric the trail enters a long section of coastal path with pine forests and stunning coves such as Cala dels Canyers and Cala Corbs. Between these two tiny rock coves as the path ascends and descends there is a headland called Punta dels Canyers which has a path through the ruins of what appears to be a house to the end of the headland (you can still see tiles on the floor). I recommend walking out here to appreciate the views of this spectacular natural rocky coastline.

Continuing along the cliff top forestall path as it weaves along the coastline takes a dip down onto Cala Estreta nudist beach. When you see it in the photo it even has the outline of finely shaped buttocks. This is the first place I chose to stop and swim because of the amazing natural beauty of this wild beach.

The trail at this point continues north along Cala Estreta into Cala Roca Bona and at the end of this beach ascends into a cliff top forested path that leads down onto Cala Cap de Planes and a little further along the path Cala del Crit. After descending some steps down onto Crit beach, the path goes through an eye shaped opening in the cliffs. Crit beach is another great place to swim.

Follow the steps up next to the white beach house and pick up the trail as it follows a forest path that strays a little inland around some unfortunately located private houses. Following a rural road passing the privately owned Castell de Cap Roig and some wheat fields, take the descending road down through a housing urbanisation to Cala el golfet. At this beach there is a paved path along the cliffs that disappears into some tunnels that are built under private houses as mitigation to restore Camí de la Ronda back to the original coastal path.

The GR-92 Ronda trail follows a paved path that oscillates along the coast bordered by pine trees, small coves and the perfect blue Mediterranean Sea before arriving at the jewel of the Mediterranean that is the fishing town of Calella de Palafrugell. I recommend making this the overnight stop for this section of the trail because of the abundance of hotels and great restaurants.

For bus maps, tips on where to eat, more photos of this route and overnight accommodation recommendations, visit the Barcelona Travel Hacks website.