MysteryTours - Location

The Alt Empordà is the northeastern most comarca (district) of mainland Spain in the province of Girona, Catalunya. It is a land of contrasts. The biggest one is in its landscapes, because in the Alt Empordà the wild Pyrenees meet the calm waters of the Mediterranean. Another contrast is that between the mass tourism of the Costa Brava and the quiet trails and rural inns of the Empordan inland areas. It’s a land of cold winters where snowy peaks dominate the views and hot summers when the sea brings well needed refreshment. It is the land of Tramuntana, a vicious north wind that is the result of a complicated system of airstreams provoked by the clash of Pyrenean and Mediterranean weather systems. It is also the land of mystery tours where everyone who puts an effort into exploring the beaten tracks will be up for plenty of surprises.

The Alt Empordà is dominated by the Bay of Roses, home to the famous seaside resorts of Roses in the north and L´Escala in the south and the long stretch of campsites in Sant Pere pescador. Here we also find some of the oldest proves of modern civilisation in Spain at the Greek and Roman ruins of Empuries (Emporion). In the bay, just a step behind the miles of wide beaches we find the Aiguamolls d´Empordà (marsh lands of the Empordà) nature park, famous for its abundance in birdlife and home to the last stretch of wild beach along the Costa Brava.

The Aiguamolls d´Empordà is one of the three protected nature parks in the alt Empordà. Probably the most spectacular one is the Cap de Creus (cape of crosses), a rocky and windswept outcrop into the sea that marks the easternmost point of mainland Spain. Here the GR 11 transpyrenean long distance trail starts and leads to Basque country on the Atlantic side of the peninsula. The borders of this park pass the seashore and part of the protected area is on land and part is under water.

The third nature park of the Alt Empordà is the Serra de l´Albera (Albera mountain range). This range marks the border between Spain and France and it is the best place to witness the transition of Pyrenean flora and fauna into a Mediterranean one. Both this park and the Cap de Creus are specked with megalithic remains. We find dolmens and menhirs from up to 5000 years ago.