Salt mines to mountain peaks: The geology of the Pyrenees: Spain

9 September 2023 - 9 days for £4,800 - No single supplements

Travel along backroads and through small towns to explore the amazing landscapes, unique earth history, culture and gastronomy of the Catalan Pyrenees. The spectacular landscapes were formed by the collision of the Iberian Peninsula with Europe, and this tectonic impact is mirrored in the many cultural collisions that have occurred in the region – including colonisation by Rome, the conquest by Muslims and the Frankish establishment of the Spanish Marches (Marca Hispanica) and the more recent conflicts of the Peninsular War and the Spanish Civil War. 

From a geological perspective, the presence of evaporite (salt) layers within the rock layers has profoundly affected the development of the Pyrenean Mountain belt, clearly and beautifully displayed in stunning landforms and vistas. Salt has been a significant driver of trade and industry, and the exploitation of salt deposits has left its mark on the culture and food tastes. The tour will explore the influences that geology, and salt in particular, have exerted on history and agriculture. 

Immerse yourself in the rural culture, history and cuisine of the Pyrenees and get closer to some of Spain’s greatest artists and how earth history influenced their work.

In partnership with GeoCultura World

DAY 1: MEET IN BARCELONA

Guests will gather in the evening at a hotel in Barcelona for introductions, drinks, dinner and a review of the trip itinerary.

DAY 2: BARCELONA TO THE PYRENEAN FOOTHILLS - GAUDI INSPIRATION AND A PINCH OF SALT 

This morning the group will depart for Cardona, visiting a little-known Antoni Gaudí church and crypt at Colonia Guell and the isolated mountain range of Montserrat en route. The church at Colonia Guell remains unfinished but provides an insight into Gaudi’s inspiration and design methods, later put into practice in his greatest work - the Basilica de Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The tour continues to Montserrat - a breathtaking and revered mountain in Catalonia and an apparent geological anomaly, towering as it does above the surrounding landscape. The tour will visit the monastery at Montserrat and take a short hike through the extraordinary landscape where our experts will explain the origin of what the Romans called ‘the saw-toothed mountain’.

Following lunch, the group continues to the ancient city of Cardona, a stronghold of Catalonian independence and located in a geo-strategic position. Our experts will explain the fascinating link between the mountain building processes of deep-time and the exposure here of a massive natural salt body (called a diapir by geologists), which has controlled both the local history and influenced European trade.  Locally known as ‘white gold’, this salt made the knights of Cardona the most powerful family in Catalonia and financed several expansions of Cardona Castle in the 12th to 15th centuries.

The tour allows more immersion into this fascinating deep-time history with a journey into the 40-million-year-old salt body itself.  We will visit the Salt Mountain Cultural Park for a private guided tour to explore the origin of the extraordinarily beautiful and delicate contortions of the salt as it once flowed like treacle.

In the late afternoon we move on to the spectacular Romanesque and Gothic medieval fortress, the Parador de Cardona, built as part of the Frankish defences against the Moors, now re-purposed as a stunning hill-top hotel where we stay for the night.

DAY 3: DETECTIVE WORK ON THE CONTINENTAL COLLISION THAT FORMED THE PYRENEES

Today the tour will get the first detailed view of the results of the astonishing structures formed by the continental collision that created the Pyrenean Mountains.  The geological shortening and stacking of rock units by kilometre scale movement along thrust faults during this collision is superbly exposed along today’s journey to Sant Esteban de Litera and Roda de Isábena. Our experts will reveal how to read the intriguing story of the rocks seen in spectacular vistas. At Olvena, we will see how the sequence of folding, of originally flat rock layers, during the collision, can be unravelled and timed by the geometry of the sediments being deposited as these huge structures grew. At Roda de Isábena, your tour experts will use geo-detective skills to deduce how an ancient delta formed during the growth of a large fold in the underlying strata. 

After this time engrossed in the hidden geo-history of the landscapes, there will be an opportunity to explore the beautiful walled Medieval town of Roda de Isábena for the afternoon before checking in to the hotel. 

DAY 4: ANCIENT ATLANTIC MARGINS NOW HIDDEN IN THE PYRENEES

Today there are two options:

For keen walkers, there is a 7 kilometre hike to use wonderful panoramic mountain vistas to explore the evidence for ancient continental margins now caught up and preserved in the Pyrenees. At Cotiella mountain the spectacular view of an entire mountainside gives a true sense of the processes and scales of the structures involved in mountain building. This is a unique opportunity to observe the salt structures and sedimentary basins that characterize the Atlantic margins. The Cotiella sedimentary basins were part of these Atlantic margins, but they have been uplifted and transported tens of kilometres during Pyrenean Mountain building. Amazingly, these basins have preserved much of their original structure and the view of Cotiella can be likened to a deep subterranean dive into the African and American Atlantic margins.

Participants desiring a less strenuous outing will accompany the group to the impressive Cotiella mountain, view it from a distance, then drive on to an equally impressive panorama of an exhumed continental-collision fold structure at Turbon formed by salt flowing and upwelling beneath rock layers. This group will also visit the Romanesque Santa María de Obarra monastery before returning to Roda de Isábena. The picturesque monastery lies at the bottom of La Croqueta Gorge, dates from at least the 9th century and has a mysterious legend of witches protecting nuns we will investigate.

Some participants may prefer to spend a free day in Roda de Isábena soaking up the atmosphere and history of this beautiful hilltop village whilst sipping a coffee in the Plaza Major or enjoying a leisurely, late Spanish lunch.

DAY 5: SALT AND ROCK FORMATIONS THAT INSPIRED GAUDI'S CATHEDRAL

Today the tour will first travel to Gerri de la Sal to continue the intriguing story of salt and its impact on the local history and culture. We visit the Salt Museum and discover how salt has been mined, purified and used throughout the ages, starting in the 9th century. 

The next stop investigates how rock structures can inspire architecture.  We visit the town of Pobla de Segur, for an easy hike along the spectacular Collegats Gorge to observe the rock formations where the architect Gaudí got his inspiration for the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona. 

In the afternoon the group will move on to Tremp for a relaxing tour and wine tasting of the Castell d’Encus winery on the site of a ruined monastery of the Knights Hospitaller (a significant Crusader order). Then on to the Hotel Can Boix near Peramola, where the group will stay for the next two nights. The hotel is nestled between limestone and ancient pebble bed cliffs and offers beautiful views into the adjacent hills.

DAY 6: ACTIVE TECTONICS AND SEDIMENTATION

Today the tour will travel to Bóixols and Abella de la Conca – these small picturesque Pyrenean villages sit within a spectacular landscape that is the result of dramatic, kilometre-scale folding of thick limestone units and related to the formation of the Pyrenees. Bóixols is in the centre of a natural amphitheatre and gives its name to this large-scale fold while Abella de la Conca perches in a commanding position above a gorge that gives access to the area. After examining this natural fortress, the group will travel a short distance to the east to the Sallent valley and discuss the dynamics of how active tectonics and developing fold structures create topography that is in turn eroded, deposited and incorporated into the growing deformation structures as ‘growth strata’- all part of the collision creating the Pyrenees around 30 million years ago. 

Participants who prefer not to accompany the tour to these sites might choose some free time to lounge by the pool or hike in the hills surrounding the hotel.

DAY 7: THE INSIDE OF A VOLCANO AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE PYRENEES

The tour will check out and travel eastwards towards the towns of Solsona, Berga, Olot and Besalú where the group will stay for the night. The trip will follow the Pyrenean Mountain front. Our experts will review the earth processes that help define the front of all mountain ranges and how more fascinating geo-detective work is used to decode mountain building.  

The tour will continue eastward to the Olot area, the location of a very young and unusual volcanic field. The volcanism is related to the formation and opening of the western Mediterranean Sea.  The volcanoes are located along a north-south trending massive crustal scale, deep fault system that runs from south Iberia to the Rhine Graben through the Olot and the French Massif Central volcanic areas. An easy and pleasant hike will allow us to observe the very well preserved El Croscat volcanic cone edifice (about 11,000 years old), conveniently sliced through by erosion to display its enthralling internal structure. Basaltic lava flows and spectacular columnar jointing will be seen in the localities of Santa Pau and Castellfollit de la Roca on the way to Besalú – these basalts provided the natural inspiration for the columns in Gaudi’s church in Colonia Guell, seen on Day 2.

Overnight in the medieval town of Besalú. 

DAY 8: SALVADOR DALI, THE COAST, ROMANS AND ANCHOVIES

Today the tour will leave the mountains behind and move towards the coast for a feast of cultural and gastronomic activities.

A short drive brings the tour to Figueres and the Dalí Theatre-Museum which rises on the remains of the former Municipal Theatre of Figueres and is considered to be the last great work of Salvador Dalí. Everything in it was conceived and designed by the artist to offer visitors an immersive experience and draw them into his unique and captivating world. A visit to the museum will be a singular experience, allowing participants to enjoy the genius's works and thoughts.

The last stops on the tour are around the ancient fishing and seaside town of L’Escala. Just north of L’Escala lies Empuries, where we will visit ancient ruins and a museum. Empuries was a Greek and Roman settlement founded in 575 BC that has now been partially excavated to provide a glimpse into ancient Mediterranean life, culture and conflict. The city grew in power as a trading centre in part through the salt trade but slowly declined over the centuries in the face of raids from sea-borne marauders and the forces of nature as the harbour silted up.

Our Autumn visit to L’Escala will coincide with the annual Festival of Salt, so we can experience this unique event first hand. We will also visit the Anchovy and Salt Museum (on) and taste the salty glory of the best anchovies in the World. Time permitting there will be an opportunity for people to immerse themselves in the salty Mediterranean Sea or to soak up the atmosphere of local fishing harbour.

The last part of the tour will be a short coach journey to the beautiful Medieval city of Girona, home to a spectacular cathedral, a fantastically preserved Jewish Quarter, Arabic baths, museums and more. Here the group will check into a city centre hotel before a final group meal to mark the end of the tour.

Overnight in the medieval town of Girona. 

DAY 9: DEPART GIRONA

The tour will end with breakfast at the hotel. Participants may continue their Catalan exploration from Girona or return by train to Barcelona.

NOTE: This provisional itinerary is subject to change as specific locations and accommodations release more information regarding access for 2023.

ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITIES

For those who may not wish to accompany the tour on some of the field stops, there are possibilities for other activities, such as:

DAY 4: Roda de Isábena - Remain in town and soak up the atmosphere and history of this beautiful hilltop village whilst sipping a coffee in the Plaza Major or enjoying a leisurely, late Spanish lunch.

DAY 6: Can Boix - Lounge by the pool and hike in the hills surrounding the hotel.