Backpacking,  Hiking,  Hiking in Europe,  Hiking in Spain,  Mediterranean Coast Hike

Best and Most Spectacular Walk along Llafranc, Calella de Palafrugell and Palamos Beaches|GR92 Spain

That day the plan was to make 15kms hiking through Llafranc and Calella de Palafrugell and getting to Palamos to the campsite. We expected the trail to be easy to moderate looking at the map as we saw several uphills and downhills with one major 200m climb. It promised to be a very beautiful day and we hoped to discover amazing hidden beaches in the cliffs and walk along the sea line as close as possible most of the time.

We woke up after a peaceful night in the campground Tamariu as usual when the sun was setting up at 8am. We had our mashed potatoes for breakfast, wrapped up our camping gear and packed our tent. So we got out on the trail at 10.30am.

So the sun was already high when we were passing the small town Tamariu located between the hills and full of green pine trees. Lots of people were already swimming in the sea and laying in the sun on the beach.

The trail went through the beach and climbed the cliff by stairs. From the very start, we got to enjoy the wonderful landscapes of the seaside and green cliffs with white buildings on them. Then we had to get through the rocky part and started climbing up the 100m hill. It was quite rocky and steep in parts so we had to be careful and go slow. There were many day hikers hiking along with us too. Then after waving along the cliff we started to descend down the same rocky and steep path with many stairs. It was very narrow and not always safe and with several fallen down parts.

This way we got to the first beach Cala Pedrosa that was located in between the rocks but still was quite a decent sized rocky beach. The sea was calm and peaceful and the waters were of an incredible turquoise blue colors and crystal clear so that it was very tempting to get into the sea.

Then we had to conquer steep climb away from the beach that was very narrow again and there we felt ourselves in a rainforest because of the lush greenery around and the humid and hot temperature. We got very hot and overheated quickly as there was practically no wind at all.

Then the trail continued waving along providing us wonderful views over the sea and this way we got to the viewpoint of the church that looked more like a castle on the hill – Ermita de Sant Sebastia de la Guardia. It was a nice place with lots of benches in the shade where we could have a snack and a bit of a break. There was located also the ruins of Iberic village and the Lighthouse of Sant Sebastia. On the other side before the downhill was another spectacular viewpoint – this time of the villages Llafranc and Calella de Palafrugell where we were heading next.

Soon we were down at the small port de Llafranc and Beach of Llafranc. It was a cute cosy small village with low white buildings standing next to each other and sandy beach. There we saw many colorful warehouses for the boats that were in front of the beach. Then following the nicely made sea front embankment we went along the sea line close to the private houses and were out to the beach Canadell of Calella de Palafrugell. It was a similar size village maybe a bit bigger than a previous one. A lot of people were enjoying the sun sitting in the coast restaurants right in front of the sea.

There we passed by quite a lot of small sandy beaches of this town and many stairs before we got out to the mountain path again. We visited making a little deviation a small Platja del Golfet scenic corner located and hidden in the cliffs. It had many rocks of different sizes with some looking like walls with curious openings in them. So that it made this spot perfect for doing some nice photography work in different lighting. The beach itself looked sandy but in reality, there were small rocks which was really cool.

We were following the GR92 all this time and the marks were very nice and precise. As we were climbing up we decided to deviate from GR again as we saw that the local trail Cami de Ronda was going closer to the sea line and seemed to not have much elevation change. So our choice was obvious.

Following the path, we got down to the first beach Cala del Crit which was a rocky scenic place where we decided to have our lunch break. We enjoyed a lot sitting and watching the yachts and boats passing by and spent a good 40min. at that place. And from there we needed to climb up steep stairs to then get down again to the next beach Cala del Cap de Planes. After we began walking right through the beaches for 1.5km or so.

All the beaches including Cala de Roca Bona and Cala Estreta were very beautiful with the idyllic rocks that looked very rounded and soft and calm waters that were very tempting. The sand was a creamy color close to white and again was made out of small rocks. These were one of the most scenic beaches we ever visited.

And we couldn’t resist the temptation of getting into these waters especially after having such a hot sweaty day. We knew that walking with a salt on a skin and a backpack is not a good idea but as we were already in 4kms from a campground we could allow ourselves this pleasure. The yellow cliffs and rocks were protecting the beaches from wind and creating some shade at the same time which was very nice. They were contrasting with blue waters and white sand which created even more spectacular picture. Islands of Formigues in the distance in front of the beach with the small lighthouse on one of the rocks were adding a unique touch to the whole picture too.

The water turned out to be warm and comfortable, it felt amazing to refresh and wake up the body this way. So we continued on with this trail and now with a burst of new energy it was much easier to walk. We had to enter the forest again and following the stairs we got to the Barraca d’en Dali attraction where supposedly was living or taking refuge escape famous painter Salvador Dali. It wasn’t anything particular about this small rocky building rather than a an angled front door, also it seemed locked.

Soon getting down we got to the outskirts of Palamos town and Platja de Castell. There we followed an easy route along the coast all the way to Castell de Sant Esteve de Mar. The sun was already setting and it was getting late close to 19pm when we got to our campground. We were concerned about the shops closing and us not being able to resupply but luckily in the campground itself was a small grocery shop. So we could buy everything needed after check in and had enough time of daylight to set up our tent. We cooked our dinner and went to sleep early after such an intense and emotional day.

Here is the link to Google map to follow the hike:

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