Activities
The geography of Bages provides excellent walking. Rambling is well-catered for in the Sant Llorenç natural park, and the Manresa tourist office has designed two nature walks near the town.
Music lovers will enjoy hearing the Montserrat choir, which sings twice daily during the week, usually at 1pm and 6.45pm and on Sundays at 11am and 6.45pm (call monastery to confirm).
The Cardona Salt Mountain is a great place to learn about the importance of salt. The former mine, which operated until 1990, has a photos and machinery exhibition, but the highlight is visiting the mountain itself. Visitors are driven into the valley and then, wearing mining helmets, they walk into the mountain to see stalagmites and stalactites that have been formed over the past millennia.
Where to stay
The Castell de Cardona has a Parador hotel, a state-run hotel that provide the opportunity to sleep in specially refurbished historic buildings at a reasonable price. If you’re thinking of exploring the area near the La Sèquia canal, close to the town of Sallent is the Hostal del Camp, a three-star hotel with 26 rooms and an outdoor swimming-pool.
What to eat
Bages is known for its cuina del secà (dry cooking), featuring ingredients such as lamb (cap i pota), beef (morro i tripa de vedella) and, oddly for a land-locked area, cod. Sweet items have a notably religious connection with panets de Sant Ignasi (Saint Ignatius rolls) and ametlles de llum (almonds of light).
When to go
Bages is interesting all year round, but for those who like to plan ahead there are a couple of dates to note in the calendar. In November and May there are fairs held in Manresa, a tradition from the time when people living in the outlying villages would ‘go down to Manresa’ to buy items that they couldn’t find locally.
Another good time to consider a trip to Manresa is for the Festival of Light, which takes place on February 21st each year. This marks the miracle that took place that day in 1345 when a mysterious light shot out from Montserrat and all the town’s church bells started to ring on their own at the same time. The event caused local bishop Galceran Sacosta to revoke the excommunication he’d placed on the town, in response to their disobedience following Sacosta’s refusal to let them build the Sèquia canal through his land to bring much-needed water to the town.
More info...
Consell Comarcal de Bages
Tel. 93 693 0350
Paradors’ network of Spain
Tel. 902 54 79 79
Hostal del Camp
Tel. 93 837 0877
Cardona Salt Mountain
Monastery of Montserrat
Tel. 93 877 7701
Sant Llorenç Natural Park
Manresa Tourist Office
Tel. 93 878 4090
www.ajmanresa.cat—to get on-line details of the nature walks near the town, see the Medi ambient section, in the Viure a Manresa menu.
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