Montserrat, a serrated mountain
Montserrat was my last stop before proceeding to Barcelona for my flight back home and I was very happy to end my backpacking trip with this natural marvel. I highly recommend you to include this place in your itinerary.
Have you ever seen a mountain with a ‘human’ touch? A mountain that reminds you of ‘being’ human?
Montserrat mountain in Catalonia Spain is just that.
Hundreds of humans standing snugly. They even have names !
Spain is full of natural wonders and surprises. While there is a salt mountain in Cardona extruded from water, in Montserrat we have serrated and barren pinnacles of sandstone erupted from the mountain’s base.
Known to the Romans as Mons Serratus (Saw-Toothed Mountain) and to the Catalans as Montsagrat (Sacred Mountain), it is famous for its unusual eroded multi-peaked appearance.
Looks like the army of straight rocks are protecting the museum!
Montserrat offers a rich and varied landscape. It has one of Spain’s foremost museums, a unique natural park and the site of the shrine is dedicated to the Virgin of Montserrat, a Black Madonna.
You’ll find many beautifully carved large sized sculptures waiting to tell you stories of that era.
The church itself is ornate and beautiful. Popular among Catalans and Catholic pilgrims, Black Madonna has an interesting story and is worshipped by numerous pilgrims, who attribute many miracles to her credit. I’ll tell you the story in a separate post.
The Escolania, Montserrat’s Boys’ Choir, is based at the Benedictine abbey Santa Maria de Montserrat and is one of the oldest in Europe. Their performance is open to public every Sunday and your visit to Montserrat is considered incomplete if you don’t experience it.
I can’t explain you how packed the place was to hear those young boys!
Can you tell me what it is? 🙂 Can we please have some of these in India as well?
I was staying in the monastery and the view from my window was very pleasing.
On the Funicular to Sant Joan. You can also hike to the top.
View from the top. How beautifully the tiny place is nestled in the mountains. From Sant Joan almost all of Catalonia can be seen and I was told, on a clear day the island of Majorca is also visible.
It was well past seven, when I went up to this landmark at the edge of the mountain to have this splendid view of the surrounding. I could see small hamlets in the plains, bizarrely shaped rocks and the river Llobregat flowing quietly. It was very cold and windy when the black clouds decided to hover and then shower.
From a distance, the mountain looks very strange because of its rock formations. I clicked it from the train.
You can see more photos of the place on Facebook here.
The Montserrat mountain is one of the most popular day excursions from Barcelona but I would suggest at least a night’s halt to enjoy the place as I did. It is a great way to escape the hustles and bustles of the city.
How to get there – You can take a train from Plaça Espanya in Barcelona till Monistrol Central which is at the foot of Montserrat mountain. The last part of the train journey is either by the Cable Car (Aeri) or the Rack Railway (Cremallera). I took the Cremallera because I was running late and the last cable car for the day had already left.
The Espanya rail station is on the green and red metro lines making it very accessible from any part of Barcelona city centre that has a metro stop.
To go to Barcelona, there are daily flights from Mumbai by SWISS air which go via Zurich and Turkish Airlines which go via Istanbul.
If you want to travel places with me, I suggest you to join me on my Facebook travel page.
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