Sant Quirze Safaja – Nature, Trails and Cultural Heritage

Culture and History

Sant Quirze Safaja, with its old town, lies on a long, rocky promontory known as la Molla.

The parish church of Sant Quirze i Santa Julita preserves an apse from a church built around the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, with exterior Lombard decoration. Its bell tower was built between 1670 and 1672 by the master builder Joan Bonafacia.

The Molí de Llobateres, also known as Molí de Centelles, molí de la Torre or molí de Fontubal, is a building of medieval origin on the right bank of the Riera de Tenes south of Sant Quirze Safaja. In modern times, the building was remodelled and extended; it is also classified as a Bé Cultural d’Interès Nacional.

The Poua de les Torras is a large underground, circular ice house with a vaulted stone roof and three rectangular roof openings for bringing in and removing the ice. Some ice houses in Sant Quirze Safaja were still in operation until the first quarter of the 20th century.

The present-day temple of the Església de Bertí was probably built in the 13th century and rebuilt in 1437. Sant Pere de Bertí is a rural cultural heritage complex comprising a church with Romanesque elements, a rectory, a cemetery and a Comunidor. The church stands on the famous Cingles de Bertí at an altitude of 825 m and forms the centre of a hamlet of scattered farmhouses.

Puigdolena was a private sanatorium dating from 1933 in Sant Quirze Safaja, at an altitude of 800 m. Màrius Torres was admitted there in December, where he matured as a poet.

Nature and Landscape

Several streams and rivulets, as well as the Riu Tenes, flow through the municipal area of Sant Quirze Safaja.

The Gorg Negre is an approximately circular pool in the Riu Tenes at its confluence with the Torrent de la Font Via. Large rock formations surround it; during rainy periods, there is a large waterfall there.

The Bauma de l’Espluga is a natural rock shelter that closes off a small valley and was partly formed by the tufa deposits of the water from the Torrent de l’Espluga cascading down above it.

Sant Miquel del Fai comprises a 70.5-hectare natural area within the municipalities of Bigues i Riells and Sant Quirze Safaja. The area is included in the Cingles de Bertí Area of Natural Interest and forms part of the Natura 2000 network.

The area around Sant Miquel del Fai is a tourist attraction featuring caves, shafts, cliffs and pools along the gorge.

The Cingles de Bertí can be explored via a network of tracks and trails along various routes. They belong to the Natura 2000 network and include Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas for birds.

Trails and Routes

The Màrius Torres Route is a signposted out-and-back trail between Puigdolena and the centre of Sant Quirze Safaja. Along the way, it offers sweeping views over the Vallès plain.

The circular route around Sant Quirze Safaja offers views of the Riu Tenes valley.

The Torrents cap al riu Tenes route begins at Parc de l’Aigua, where there is a fountain, information boards and an interpretive QR code.

Parc de l’Aigua is a public park with trees, a fountain, benches and a children’s playground.

Bauma del Molí o dels Horts can be reached from the entrance to the town by following a marked footpath upstream for approximately ten minutes.

Stage 4 of the GR 177 runs along trails, through forests and over hills around the Riera de Safaja, allowing visitors to discover Sant Quirze Safaja and Castellcir.

Other Places

Other destinations to discover: Òdena, El Corral D'en Cona, Torrelavit, Castellar De N'hug, Cantonigròs, Cantallops, La Torre De Claramunt and Caldes D'estrac.

Getting There

Sant Quirze Safaja can be reached via a road junction that runs below the historic town centre and connects the roads from Centelles to Sant Feliu de Codines and from Mollet to Moià.

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