The animal strikes its hoof twice against the rock, accompanied by a hiss. Small, sharp-looking horns crown its deer-like head. Discretion being the better part of valour, I retreat a few steps, hoping it\u2019ll bound away.<\/p>\n
It remains, eyeballing me. Five minutes of calculations pass before I decide to slowly creep past, pleading with it gently not to shove me down the hillside. My voice seems to unnerve it \u2013 the animal flees, rustling away into the underbrush.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been written that the concept of the sublime, that sense of awe we often feel in nature, is a kissing cousin of dread. Following that encounter, the woods of the Vall de Ribes feel thrillingly alive. I don\u2019t encounter another isard \u2013 the goat-antelope of the Pyrenees \u2013 that day, and file away my sighting as a rare one.<\/p>\n
Then, the next day, I saw three more. And a marmot.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m on a walking holiday with the travel company Inntravel<\/a>, in the Spanish <\/a>Pyrenees, and based in the mountain town of Ribes de Freser. Many similar breaks involve moving between hotels, which requires the rigmarole of packing and transfers. A single-centre break makes the logistics as undemanding as the terrain.<\/p>\n Deposited by the genially paced train from Barcelona<\/a>, I\u2019m met by Marta Perramon, the energetic, hotel director of Resguard del Vents. On the short drive, she points out her octogenarian father\u2019s home set behind her modern glass-and-stone hotel. She describes how, when he calls for help on his farm, she, her nephews and her husband drop what they\u2019re doing and head over.<\/p>\n Besides its demanding patriarchs, Ribes de Freser is best known for its mineral water (aigua de Ribes) and the rack railway. The railway<\/a>\u2019s narrow gauge slips up to the Vall de N\u00faria<\/a> at 6,600 ft (over 3,000 ft above Ribes) \u2013 a picturesque hidden valley with a commanding sanctuary-cum-ski-resort-facility that once hosted the signing of the 1931 Catalan Statute of Autonomy.<\/p>\n After 45 minutes, the train pulls out a tunnel alongside a turquoise reservoir, with the startling illusion that we\u2019ve broken the surface. An \u201caww\u201d comes from the passengers as the valley comes into view.<\/p>\n We disembark and my fellow travellers filter off onto different trails. This county of the Girona Pyrenees, known as Ripoll\u00e8s, sees an annual influx of 323,000 tourists (with only 1,503 from the UK<\/a>), according to the Catalan tourism board \u2013 tiny, when you consider that somewhere like the Scottish Highlands <\/a>receives annual visitor numbers in the millions.<\/p>\n This, as well as Inntravel\u2019s shrewdly plotted trails, contribute to me seeing no other humans while hiking around the wildflower-sprinkled valley, but plenty of lizards, isards, and the singular marmot. It\u2019s little wonder that Marta has so many return guests, including a Danish couple back for their third visit, drawn by the plentiful, easy-going hikes.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the food. Catalonia is the World Region of Gastronomy for 2025<\/a> and once the location of the world\u2019s number one restaurant, El Bulli<\/a> (as judged by The World\u2019s 50 Best Restaurants<\/a>).<\/p>\n After dining in the hotel restaurant, with its mountain panoramas, it seems the culinary philosophy here is that Mediterranean easy win of bringing the flavour out of outstanding produce, with nothing left out (see noodles scattered with pigs\u2019 trotters, from La Taverna de Nit<\/a> in Ribes). Or keeping it heart-healthy with black pudding and pork crackling on a bed of something like colcannon, which fortifies one\u2019s commitment to exercise the next morning.<\/p>\n Waking to another symphonic dawn chorus overlaid by the occasional plaintiff hoot of the rack railway\u2019s steam whistle, I consider my hiking options while swifts tussle for drinking rights to the infinity pool.<\/p>\n In the end, I settle on a day-long excursion north, to the border outpost of Puigcerd\u00e0. Ripoll\u00e8s<\/a> is crisscrossed by pilgrimage trails. There\u2019s Nuria, and the Hermitage of St Anthony that I reached on my first hike, with illegally overnighting camper vans swiftly reeling in their washing lines at my unexpected appearance. On this final day, walking between mountain-encircled Puigcerd\u00e0 and France-encircled Llivia (a curious exclave of Spanish sovereignty), my trail joins with the Camino del Segre (a section of the Camino de Santiago)<\/a>, and slips nonchalantly across the border on a sleepy path, the poppies as ebullient as travelling Real Madrid supporters.<\/p>\n When the bus deposits me back in Puigcerd\u00e0, it\u2019s still another three hours until my return train ambles into the station. It\u2019s a schedule that enforces a relaxed pace, giving time to discover Puigcerd\u00e0\u2019s charming maze of streets, run up to see the views at the top of the 18th century Campanar de Santa Maria, as well as enjoying a celebratory glass of cava in the square below. Essentially, allowing you enough time to have it all.<\/p>\n \nBooking it <\/p>\n Inntravel offers\u202fA Stroll in the Pyrenees\u202ffrom \u00a31,050pp based on two sharing, including seven nights\u2019 B&B accommodation, three dinners, two picnics, walking notes and maps. Flights and transfers extra. Departures available until 26 October 2025 and 1 April to 25 October 2026. inntravel.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n Getting there<\/p>\n Flights are available with several airlines from UK cities to Barcelona. From Barcelona, head to Barcelona Sants Station, where you can board the R3 train (direct services are around 2.5 hours) that takes you directly to Ribes de Freser.<\/p>\n More information <\/p>\n![\"Vall](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_254523051.jpg\")
An isard Chris spotted in Vall de Ribes (Photo: Chris Allsop)<\/p>\n![\"Lake](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_254403387.jpg\")
The lake in Vall de Nuria Valley Sanctuary (Photo: Supplied)<\/p>\n![\"Resguard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_254522695.jpg\")
The Resguard dels Vents hotel (Photo: Supplied) <\/p>\n![\"Puigcerda](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_254403392.jpg\")
The beautoful Puigcerda Lake (Photo: Supplied)<\/p>\n