Isòvol – Nature Trails, Pink Marble and Romanesque Churches

Isòvol features an arid zone known as Les Guilleteres, Esterregalls, Estorregalls and Badlands. Yellow, ochre and reddish tones meet deep, narrow gullies and channels created by the Segre River.

Nature

An approximately one-kilometre-long, very pleasant path leads from Plaça Major in All to the Guilleteres; you can walk or cycle along it. Near Isòvol, hikes are possible in a protected natural area. A viewpoint is located in a former quarry where the pink marble typical of Isòvol was extracted. One route runs entirely through the EINS Tossals d’Isòvol i Olopte.

The type of path, landscape area and route layout give the excursions different characteristics and can be considered separately when planning your personal itinerary.

When planning accommodation for a ski holiday in Isòvol, the offer pages allow you to compare travel dates, room category and cancellation policies. Travel dates and room category organise the offer details, while the cancellation policies form a separate point of comparison. The nature and cultural themes place different emphasis on the experience: the paths and protected natural area represent outdoor activity on the one hand, while the churches and the Aplec represent historical and community impressions on the other. When choosing accommodation, you can consider these focal points alongside the information on travel dates, room category and cancellation as separate criteria and place them within the same comparison.

Culture

The Aplec de Quadres takes place every second Sunday in September and includes a mass and a communal lunch.

Santa Maria de Quadres was a venerated shrine and pilgrimage site for many centuries. In the 13th and 14th centuries, it was known as Domus hospitalis de Santa Maria de Cadris. The hospital chapel served pilgrims and travellers who were travelling from Coll de la Perxa to La Seu d’Urgell and following the Way of St James.

Churches

Sant Miquel d’Isòvol was a former parish church of Romanesque origin dating from the 13th century; the present Neo-Romanesque building replaced it. The present church has a single-nave layout, an east-facing apse and a south-facing entrance.

Sant Miquel d’Isòvol is built from local stone and contains blocks of pink marble extracted at Tossal d’Isòvol.

The parish of Sant Pere d’Olopte has been documented since the late 10th century; the present temple was originally known as the Chapel of San Félix and was built between the 12th and 13th centuries. Its apse rests on a base more than three metres high, giving the church a particularly slender appearance.

The Romanesque portal of Sant Pere d’Olopte is richly sculpted and consists of five archivolts in which rectangular forms alternate with columns and torus arches.

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