Volcanic area in Olot

94 miles from Barcelona and 34 miles from Girona you can find the volcanic area of la Garrotxa, you can drive from Barcelona ( here how to arrive) or arrive by bus to Olot and then visit the area by bike or hiking. Best way  to arrive though, is by car, you can park in a free parking area and from there you can hike to the volcanos following the signposts. There are several tours.

It is easy short way though sometimes uphill path is a bit painful. They are small volcanos so uphill last short after starting. These volcanos had been inactive for 10,000 years and it is not a earthquake area but in the XVth century cities of Olot and Queralb were completely destroyed because of earthquakes
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.  Santa Margarida's volcano , yes, a church is placed in the middle of the crater. Second picture, the one with people in it shows how big the crater is so the picture is taken from "inside" the crater of the volcano where plants and trees have grown.

• Another tour to the Bocanegra ( Blackmouth in Spanish), land is lightweight and porous, in black or red, volcanic soil.
  

• The Croscat , structure of the volcano is easy to distinguish. Some decades ago the volcano was mined in order to sell the soil so, unfortunately, part of the volcano disappeared. As well some visitors take advantage of the lightness of the soil and walls to leave marks around. A real shame.

The visit to  volcanos can take the whole day round but if you get sick of hiking you can visit the city of Olot , the forest "Fageda d'en Jordà" which is in the area or visit the narrow village of Castellfollit de la Roca, placed on the top of a basaltic cliff and where there is only one way to arrive to the village, here some pics of Castellfollit.