Day 1: Arrival in Setcases (Spain), small mountain village at the bottom of the «Ter» valley. Overnight in hotel**

Day 2: Walk from Setcases to Mollo. Medium length walk following the La Senda path (the path that crosses the Pyrenees on the Spanish side). You arrive in the Spanish town Mollo with its Romanesque church, across meadows and pastures. Night in hotel***4 to 5 hour walk, 14 kms/8.75 miles, level + : 550 m, level – : 650 m

Day 3: Walk from Mollo to Prats de Mollo. You leave South Catalonia by the old smugglers path. Fine views over the Vallespir valley before arriving in the medieval city of Prats de Mollo in France. Overnight in hotel**5 to 6 hour walk, 15 kms/9.4 miles, level + : 440 m, level – : 885m

Day 4: Transfer to St Laurent de Cerdans. Walk down to Amelie les Bains. A short climb to the Pilon de Belmatx from where you’ll have a view over the Costa Brava, the Canigou mountain and the «Côte Vermeille». Arrival in Amélie les Bains. Hotel***5 to 6 hour walk, 12 kms/7.5 miles, level + : 362 m, level – : 1018 m

Day 5: Easy walk to Céret, the ‘cherry town’. Pass through the small village of Reynes at the bottom of a valley and after the Col de Boussells, you will reach the environs of Céret, surrounded by cherry trees. Follow the town’s narrow streets that inspired artists like Picasso, Chagal, and Matisse. Overnight in hotel**4.5 to 5 hours walk, 11 kms/7 miles, level + : 380 m, level – : 320m

Day 6: Transfer to Pic Néoulous for the descent to Banyuls sur Mer. The «Transpyrénéenne» comes to an end. Walk along the Albères, from the Pic Sailfort to the Cap Béar, and pass through vineyards to reach Elmes. Overnight in Hotel***7.5 to 8 hours ofwalking, 20 kms/12.5 miles, level + : 642 m, level – : 1589 m. During this day it is possible to do a shorter walk (4 to 5 hours walking) with a transfer to the Col de la Serre.

Day 7: Depart after breakfast

Getting to Setcases:

From Barcelona or Girona take train to Ripoll and from Ripoll a taxi to Setcases.  It is possible to take a bus from Ripoll to Camprodon but there are very few buses from Camprodon to Setcases and a taxi is not always easy to find in Comprodon. Taxi from Ripoll to Setcases costs approx. €60.00 for the journey (up to 3 people).

Setcases is difficult to reach using public transport from France – it is recommended that you book a transfer.

From Banyuls

There is a train station in Banyuls with a service to both Perpignan and Barcelona.  If going to Barcelona there is not a great difference in the train fare  if you take a taxi to Portbou and from there you can take a direct train to Barcelona.  Otherwise you need to change trains at the border and you may have to wait for a connection.  There is a direct train from Banyuls to Perpignan.

Hotels

Hotel Tiranda  – Setcases 2 star

Hotel Calitzo  – Mollo 4 star

Hotel Ausseil – Prats de Mollo 2 star

Hotel la Reine Amelie – Amelie les Bains  3 star

Hotel les Arcades – Ceret 2 star

Hotel le Catalan – Banyuls sur mer – 3 star

Terrain and difficulty of walk: 

The first two days are on high mountain land at different levels but on average at 1500-1600m across mountain pastures. Woods at the bottom of valleys

Day 3 is on middle level mountain lands, maquis, garrigue, some rocky paths on the Pilon de Belmatx, then woods to Amélie les Bains.

Day 4: transition walk, easy. Middle level mountain then low level. Tracks and a few small roads.

Day 5: Back to the mountains at 1300-1100 m high. Grass and maquis. Down to Banyuls, rocky paths on the Pic Sailfort part.