Bike route Roses – Mollet de Peralada – Roses
Starting point : Roco Cycling Café, Passeig Maritim, 95, 17480 Roses.
At the starting point, you can also rent Conroco sports bikes and get more information.
This 58 km cycling tour is fairly tough and requires a good level of fitness. The surface is mostly gravel. The altitude metres are not that high at 210 m, although there is a tough 90 m climb.
On this route, you cross the Aiguamolls national park both on the way to and on the way back.
Starting from the beach, leaving Santa Margarida along the canals. We drive towards the roundabout, follow the direction GIV-6102 and a little later turn left onto the gravel road. From here on our journey starts.
Follow the GPS route to arrive at a nice bridge by an often dry stream. Usually you can pass it to the left of the bridge. Now you are in Parc Natural Dels Aiguamolls de l’Emporda! Together with the Ebro and Llobregat deltas, the Aiguamolls de l’Empordà are one of the most important wetlands in Catalonia.
Along the way, we see the irrigation canals and many ponds that were built hundreds of years ago to grow crops. Today, most contain fresh water and are breeding and wintering grounds for more than 200 species of birds, including some very rare ones.
We drive across the park towards Castello d’Empuries.
We leave the Aiguamolls behind and drive to the river La Muga which leads us to the pretty town of Castello d’Empuries(13 km). The town centre houses a rich architectural heritage , including the remarkable 14th-century Gothic church of Santa María, which has a Romanesque bell tower and resembles a cathedral. At Castello d’Empuries, we cross the La Muga and follow the river along the other side to the small town of Vilanova de la Muga(18 km).
Our next destination is Peralada(24 km), known for its wines, cavas and famous casino. Peralada is also the ideal time to stop for a drink or a small snack (café, bakery) before continuing for the next 35 km.
From Peralada, we drive to another river, the l’Orlina(27 km). We start climbing steadily along a tough, rock-strewn path. A true test of both fitness and tyres. Watch the turn to the left, this is the start of a tough stretch, you are eventually rewarded with beautiful views. We ride through the vineyards of La Vinyeta reaching Mollet de Peralada(32 km) a bit later.
8 km after Mollet de Peralada, we reach the highest point of our trip. We have then ridden about 40 km and are at 90 m altitude. From here it is downhill all the way to the coast. We ride towards the N-260, which we will cross to continue following the river. We ride back under the railway and pass by Villajuiga and Pau to reach Roses again.
We ride along the canals back to Roco Cycling café, right on the beach. Time to rest and review this bike route with a fresh pint and tasty meal.
