Talaixà, the Salt de la Núvia and Santa Bàrbara de Pruneres

Beyond the pools, the Alta Garrotxa hides villages that emptied out, ruined farmhouses and hermitages on the summits. These two routes start in Sadernes and take you into the wildest part of the Alta Garrotxa.

Talaixà is an old mountain village, now abandoned, with the church of Sant Martí and a refuge at about 750 metres. The usual loop leaves Sadernes via the Valentí bridge, climbs to Talaixà, descends via La Quera and the Salt de la Núvia to Sant Aniol d'Aguja and returns down the stream via the Gomarell. It's about 14 kilometres with 600 to 750 metres of ascent, depending on the variant.

The Salt de la Núvia is a spectacular viewpoint over the valley, with a narrow, exposed passage equipped with chains. If you suffer from vertigo, do the route the other way round and turn back before that section.

The restored Romanesque hermitage of Santa Bàrbara de Pruneres crowns a summit between the Oix valley and Sadernes. A long-distance footpath climbs to it from Santa Cecília de Sadernes: it's a steady climb, but from the top you get one of the best views of the whole Alta Garrotxa, with Bassegoda opposite.

These are mountain paths, with loose stone in places and no reliable springs: carry water and food for the whole day. Waymarking is the yellow Itinerànnia signposts and, in places, the GR 11. In winter Talaixà can be snowbound.