About Garrotxa 4x4
The beginnings of Garrotxa 4x4
Garrotxa 4×4 started on July 7, 2000, led by its founder Francesc, a native of Santa Pau who declares himself a lover and passionate about his town, Santa Pau, and its region, La Garrotxa.
From the beginning, we were clear that in order to provide a unique experience for our clients, the vehicle played a very important role. For this reason, we transformed and approved a Nissan Pick-up, where people travel outdoors, bringing them closer to and deeper into nature from the first moment.
At Garrotxa 4×4 we are strongly committed to our territory, to the flora and fauna of our region. Therefore we stay away from aggressive practices and speeds that are not respectful of the environment.
Our routes will take you to get to know the Natural Park of the Volcanic Zone of La Garrotxa and the rest of the region in depth. You can choose between 7 different itineraries, where you can see beautiful landscapes, viewpoints, volcanoes, Romanesque churches, waterfalls… that will surely not leave you indifferent.
Choose from 7 different routes to discover La Garrotxa in a 4x4!
Get to know our surroundings
La Garrotxa is a transition region between the mountains and the plain, which extends between the Pyrenees and the Transversal mountain range. Despite the complexity of the region, two well-differentiated and delimited sectors can be distinguished: Alta Garrotxa and Baixa Garrotxa. The first, wild and with a difficult terrain, with little vegetation, and full of gorges, chasms and caves, gives its name to the region Garrotxa = rough and broken land, and is a paradise for hikers; Baixa Garrotxa, with gentle mountains and volcanic hollows, is flatter, with abundant meadows and water streams.
It is the wettest region in Catalonia; it is said that when it does not rain in Olot it does not rain anywhere, and it has lush and abundant vegetation with trees more typical of humid Europe: beech, birch, oak, and rocky outcrops. Among the beech forests, the Hayedo de Jordà stands out, which is located on a sea of solidified lava. The labyrinthine beech forest, a symbol of La Garrotxa, the shape of the land and the trees inspired the poet Joan Maragall, and the range of colours of the vegetation, the Olot school of landscape design.
La Garrotxa contains the most important volcanic area of the Iberian Peninsula; it has more than 40 volcanic cones that had erupted in prehistoric times, some of considerable size, such as Santa Margarida and Montsacopa. The eruptions have left thirty craters and impressive tectonic faults. The volcanic complex, which occupies some 120 km², forms the largest and oldest natural park in Catalonia, approved by Parliament in 1982.
The appearance of a series of fractures that have given rise to various foundries or basins, together with the phenomena of volcanism, give this region a rather peculiar orography and a very attractive landscape.
It is a traditionally rural region, which lives off of agriculture, livestock and forestry. Industrial activity is located in the Fluvià valley and, above all, in the city of Olot.
The valleys of the Garrotxa offer a landscape full of Romanesque churches and monasteries, above all in the Bianya valley, in the Bas valley and in Beget, where the Romanesque church, declared a national monument, preserves the “Majesty of Beget”, a Romanesque carving of great artistic value.
Besalú, the former capital of the county, preserves the medieval centre, a monumental complex that contains the monastery, the Romanesque bridge, the Jewish quarter and a bathhouse.
The gastronomy of the Garrotxa has grilled meat as a common denominator. Among the pastry specialties, the typical pickled roscones and the pork rind cakes from Olot, the puff pastry from Castellfollit de la Roca, and the “modernist” ones from Besalú stand out.
Catalan Educational Telematic Network
Social sciences area.
