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Natural Park of the Volcanic Zone of la Garrotxa

Olot, Garrotxa, Girona

1 Villages · 11 Monuments · 4 Nature · 1 Activities · 3 Historical milestones · 3 Food and drink

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Natural Park of the Volcanic Zone of la Garrotxa

Nature · Olot, Garrotxa, Girona

The finest example of volcanic landscape on the Iberian Peninsula, located in the eastern Pyrenees, in the comarca of the Garrotxa. Volcanic activity began about 350,000 years ago and died out about 8,300 years ago; the park records some forty volcanic cones, 10 well-preserved craters and more than 20 basaltic lava flows. It covers an area of 15,309 hectares spread across 11 municipalities and 28 nature reserves, under a protection regime created to curb the impact of mineral extraction, urban growth and uncontrolled rubbish dumps. The terrain, the relief and a very humid, almost Atlantic climate sustain a varied and often lush vegetation of holm oak, oak and beech woods.

Photo: Carquinyol from Badalona, Catalunya (CC BY-SA 2.0)

What to see and do in Olot