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Banyuls Pass

Espolla, Alt Empordà, Girona

1 Villages · 7 Nature · 3 Activities

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Banyuls Pass

Nature · Espolla, Alt Empordà, Girona

A wide pass in the sierra de l'Albera serving as a natural crossing point between French Northern Catalonia and the Alt Empordà, surrounded by forests and mountain pastures. Situated at 357 metres between the municipalities of Rabós and Banyuls-sur-Mer, in the French Roussillon, it is one of only three road passes across the eastern end of the Pyrenees, and is reached from Espolla or from Rabós. Formerly called Coll d'Espills, it was one of the routes linking Southern and Northern Catalonia since Visigothic times, when King Wamba used it to cross the Albera on his way to Septimania. At the neighbouring Coll del Pastor Mort, where the paved road now runs, there is a monument to General De Gaulle's call for the liberation of France and several signs about the Spanish Civil War.

Photo: Bertrand GRONDIN → (Talk) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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