Ascending Catalogna's sacred mountain from the hamlet of Los Masos de Vallmanya, on well-marked trails, with two breaks at the Refuge des Cortalets for coffee (on the way up) and then beer (on the way down), and about 35/40 minutes spent at the summit. There are quite a few possible routes to ascend this peak; mine follows the GR36 before joining the most popular route from the refuge (2150m), which is only accessible with a SUV. Unless you book a tour to drive you up the dirty roadtrack, you will have a minimum of ca. 1700m total ascent and thus may prefer to have a two- or three-day trip. Another popular route is from the WSW (Mariailles) and includes some scrambling up a chimney just below the summit. This bit of scrambling can also be tackled from the refuge via an unmarked trail which runs along the Crête des Barbets and meets the route from Mariailles. The 360° vista from the top is breathtaking and you can see a long stretch of the Mediterranean coast on a clear day. Just remember the big difference in height with the starting point means it can be quite cold and windy up there, which was the case on this 13. August (fortunately the wind had dropped down by the time I reached the summit).

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