The “Camino de ronda” from Platja d’Aro to S’Agaró

The “Camino de ronda” from Platja d’Aro to S’Agaró, one of the most spectacular natural landscapes in Costa Brava.

Continuing with the hiking trails, today we’re proposing one in which coves and beaches are the real protagonists. In other words, the Camino de Ronda de Platja d’Aro to S’Agaró, one of the most spectacular natural places on the Costa Brava where you can enjoy a magnificent walking route of exceptional beauty, surrounded by the most pristine and pure nature of the Catalan coast.

Considered by hiking experts as one of the most iconic routes on the Costa Brava, this path starts from a perfect combination of architecture and nature in order to create a unique route that connects small coves with rocky personality, tamarius carved by the tramuntana and complex and autochthonous flora, with cliffs not suitable for those who suffer from vertigo. As a result, these wild coves also offer us privileged sea views with a color palette dyed by the blues of the wildest waters and the earthy and green colors of the rocks, pines and wild agaves of this corner of Catalonia.

©: Jordi Mas

In addition to all this, the Camí de Ronda is also the main scene of the geological heritage of the Costa Brava which, together with the blue route, connects the main blue flag beaches, such as Platja Gran in Platja d’Aro the beach of Sa Conca in S’Agaró and the beach of Sant Pol in Sant Feliu de Guíxols.

As if this were not enough, there is also a swimming route for open water lovers; this is the Vía Brava. 2 km of open water to be able to practice this sport in the best possible conditions and scenario.

In conclusion, the coastal path has been declared a  Site of National Cultural Interest .Here are the 8 main points of interest that we can discover in this 9 km adventure that can be completed in approximately 2h 35 ‘at an average pace.

©: Jordi Mas

#1 Puig Pinell

Firstly, in the Platja d’Aro coastal path to S’Agaró we find Puig Pinell

Starting at the Hotel Bell Repòs, follow the promenade to the right in the direction of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, until you reach the Ridaura stuary.  Then, we continue to the right on the side of the bank until we reach the main road and will follow this path until we find the ascent path to Puig Pinell. This very gentle ascent path passes through generous pine forests and reaches the top of the Puig Pinell viewpoint, where you can enjoy a beautiful view of both Platja d’Aro and S’Agaró. 

To start the return journey we will follow the path that will take us to Punta Prima first and to Cala de Sa Conca.

#2 Cala de Sa Conca

Second stop on the Platja d’Aro coastal path to S’Agaró

Then, Cala de Sa Conca is the first cove we find on the S’Agaró ring road and we could say with little risk that this is the locals favorite beach. The transparency of its waters and the natural geographical environment in which it is located, surrounded by the pines of the Punta Prima pine forest. In other words, make it one of the most beautiful beaches on the Costa Brava. It is 125 meters long and has an average width of about 40 meters. Sand is thick and the entrance to the sea has a considerable slope that makes it very deep a few meters away from the shore.

In addition, between the cove and Punta Prima, to the east, is the small Cala d’Oriços, which, unlike Sa Conca, has a rocky bottom. There are two beaches are separated by a rock formation that goes into the sea and is called the island of Sa Conca.

 ©: Jordi Mas

In addition, crossing the Cala de Sa Conca we will find some stairs that will allow us to continue the path in the direction of S’Agaró.

#3 Plaza del Mirador

Third stop on the Platja d’Aro coastal path to S’Agaró

Plaza del Mirador, also known as Mirador de S’Agaró, as its name suggests, a point of interest in S’Agaró itself where we can enjoy the best views, not only of the Camí de Round, but of much of the Costa Brava, seeing from the same nearby coves to Palamós on the horizon.

With a dome with spectacular views that creates a very romantic setting, it is the place chosen for many local couples to take wedding photos, as well as many ‘influencers’ and ‘instagrammers’ who find an incomparable setting for his publications. We can let ourselves be hugged and caressed by the north wind as we watch the fury of the sea collide with the earth’s surface.

However, the path is full of bourgeois stately homes, with movie-worthy decorations, such as the Casa de la Senya Blanca built in 1924. During the walk you will see planted crowds of Tamarius, a native tree that adapts very well to life by the sea.

We were surprised to see how some of these houses had direct access to the beach for boating. If we look closely, we will see that under the promenade there are still many piers that connected with the stairs and the old accesses to the houses.

 

• #4 Cala Pedrosa

Fourth stop on the coastal path of Platja d’Aro to S’Agaró

Cala Pedrosa is a small, almost tiny and curious beach, located at the end of a tongue of sea and flanked by granite rock walls. It can be accessed from the ring road in the direction of Palamós. Moreover, is 20 meters long and consists of medium-grained sand mixed with stones.

The cove is flanked on the right by the tip of Cala Pedrosa, with flat rocks that allow it to be used for sunbathing. The seabed is quite rocky, so it is advisable to wear rubber shoes or pump, where the area is well-suited for snorkeling. However, coastal Path allows you to discover a dozen small and beautiful rocky coves. Cala del Barco and Cala de les Vaques stand out for their sea tongues that penetrate the land.

 

• #5 Chapel of Our Lady of Hope
  

Fifth stop on the Platja d’Aro coastal path to S’Agaró

Inside the town of S’Agaró and leaving the path for a few moments, fifth and most importantly the Capilla de Nuestra señora de la Esperanza, a Catholic church listed as a monument and of cultural interest.

Moreover, it was built in 1941 according to a project by Rafael Masó and continued by Francesc Folguera, it is a work that could be described as noucentista or neo-baroque, although it also incorporates, for instance original Gothic elements of the convent of  Sant Francesc de Girona (the arches of the cloister, for example) as well as several doors, as well as two tombs also from the Gothic period, from the chapel of the castle of Foixà (a tombstone of Bernat Guillem de Foixà, died in 1362 and a sarcophagus of Guillem de Foixà, died in 1459 and his son Friar Alemany, who died in 1476).

• #6 The viewpoint of Punta d’en Pau
  

Sixth stop on the Platja d’Aro coastal path in S’Agaró

On the left side of the road we come to the The viewpoint of Punta d’en Pau (Mirador de la Punta d’en Pau), a magnificent balcony overlooking the beach of St Pol.

• #7  S’Agaró and Hostal de La Gavina 

   

Seventh stop on the Platja d’Aro coastal path to S’Agaró

In 1916 Josep Ensesa i Pujadas, a flour industrialist based in Girona, exchanged the debt of a bakery in Sant Feliu for a plot at the foot of the hill of s’Agaró, later the family acquired the adjacent land.

Firstly of the luxury urbanization of S’Agaró date back to the 1920s when the Ensesa family bought land between the bay of Sant Pol and the long beach of Sa Conca, north of Sant Feliu of Guíxols. The area didn’t even have a name, so the family decided to name it after the stream that runs through their lands, the Agaró.

 ©: Fèlix Gonzalez

• #8  The S’Agaró baths and Sant Pol beach 

Eighth stop on the Platja d’Aro coastal path to S’Agaró

Baths of S’Agaró were inaugurated on July 11, 1920 with the name of Baños de San Pol. There was a wooden terrace and, on each side, ten houses of different colors. These houses have become one of the most photographed spots on Sant Pol beach thanks in part to their unique beauty. In the past, these huts were used to change clothes before going to the bathroom and the complex also included an entertainment area and a luxury restaurant that still exists today, called  La taverna del mar.

 

Photos provided by the City Council of Platja d’Aro and Calonge