The Traverse

The traverse begins immediately in the mountains. From the valley floor at Plànoles, the GR11 climbs steeply to the Collet de les Barraques — 1,475m of total ascent through the day, in 18 kilometres. Refugi Corral Blanc sits just below the high point, a good place to stop before the descent into Queralbs.

The route drops to Queralbs, then climbs through the Gorges de Núria before continuing up into the Coma de Vaca valley. The refugi sits at 1,995m — remote, guardian-run, outstanding food. Accessible only on foot. A fitting end to the first day.

Departing Coma de Vaca, the GR11 climbs the border ridge to reach Col de Noucreus at 2,785m — the highest point on the entire GR11. The ridge is exposed and demands an early start; afternoon thunderstorms are a real risk in summer. Make the col before midday if there is any weather uncertainty.

The views from the col are extraordinary in both directions. The long descent via Coll de la Marrana and Refugi d'Ulldeter arrives in Setcases with 1,745m of descent completed. The terrain here borders the familiar country of the Valley Base — but seen from the other side, after two hard days in the mountains.

After two days of high alpine terrain, the character of the traverse changes. From Setcases, the GR11 climbs one final time to Coll de Lliens (1,864m) before beginning its long descent through an altogether different landscape — wooded ridges, pastoral valleys, and the first signs of the lowland Pyrenees beginning to assert themselves.

The route passes through Mollò and on via Rocabruna and Coll de la Boixeda, descending steadily into the Llierca valley. Beget is waiting at the end of it — one of the finest medieval villages in Catalonia, built in stone around a 12th-century Romanesque church. After 61 kilometres and three days on the GR11, it is an ending worth reaching.