Masia Can Font de Muntanya: a weekend full of gravel

Arriving at Masia Can Font de Muntanya on a Friday morning and departing on Sunday evening, we indulged in three splendid gravel rides over the weekend. Les Gavarres stands out as a perfect natural park for gravel riding.

In Les Gavarres, the possibilities for beautiful and challenging gravel routes seem boundless. Starting from Masia Can Font de Muntanya, numerous routes in every direction await exploration. Our favorite ride took us to the peaks of the nature reserve, including Puig Gavarres and Puig d’Arques, both reaching elevations just over 530 meters.

Les Gavarres, experiencing a revival since the mid-20th century due to depopulation and the shift from traditional rural life, owes its renewed vigor to rural tourism. The network of bike-friendly pathways crisscrossing the mountains exemplifies this transformation.

Masia Can Font de Muntanya, at the heart of the gravel action, preserves the essence of rural times. The owners renovated two independent houses, offering seven spacious rooms with various amenities, including dining areas, communal lounges, a swimming pool, an organic vegetable garden, and vast surrounding land.

Our accommodation, ‘El Mirador,’ a room for two people, provides excellent views of Les Gavarres. Its large windows and comfortable sofa make it a perfect spot for planning our daily excursions, as we can literally point out from our rooms where the gravel roads are going to.

For instance to Alt de la Ganga, that is, during our preferred route, a remarkable point while descending into the most eastern side of the nature reservation. The climb is well-known among local road cyclists, but from the top also numerous gravel roads go either up- or downhill. After a detour in the eastern side of Les Gavarres and touching base with La Bisbal d’Empordà, we are following the Riu Daró, the road back that leads us back into the nature reserve, featuring short stretches with gradients exceeding 20%, while offering inspiring vistas of medieval towns in the Costa Brava. Opting for another detour before returning to Masia Can Font de Muntanya, we capped off three hours of off-road trail (97% gravel roads!) exploration.

Our room ‘El Mirador’, welcoming us with an excellent shower post-ride, surprises with its features and tranquility, reviving us after every journey. Under the hot water cascading down on our chests and backs, we couldn’t help but realize: a weekend of gravel riding in Les Gavarres is simply not enough.

This story is part of Nafent Magazine volume 9. Read the full story in our digital or paper magazine. Go to our webshop, or buy yours at one of our 200 partner places.