Rupit

Rupit stands on basalt and sandstone crags in the Collsacabra, at the edge of the Garrotxa volcanic region, and its houses of dark stone with slate roofs are built directly onto and into the rock, with some streets cut as steps into the bedrock and doorways carrying dates from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A suspension footbridge over the Rupit river connects the car park to the village and sways noticeably underfoot, which is part of the arrival. Above the village, a path leads in about forty minutes to the Salt de Sallent, a waterfall dropping around a hundred metres into a gorge, the highest in Catalonia, though its flow depends heavily on rain and it can be dry.

What you actually see

• The rock-cut streets - lanes and steps carved into the bedrock.
• The suspension bridge - a swaying footbridge into the village.
• The dated doorways - stone lintels carved with sixteenth-century dates.
• The Salt de Sallent - a hundred-metre waterfall a walk above the village.

When to go

April to June and October to November; the waterfall needs recent rain and is often dry in summer. Autumn colour in the Collsacabra is good. Weekends bring heavy day-trip traffic from Barcelona.

Honest expectations

Parking is outside the village and fills at weekends, with a walk in over the bridge. The waterfall is frequently dry, which disappoints those who came for it. The village is small and seen in an hour.

Nearby

Tavertet and the Collsacabra cliffs are close; the Garrotxa volcanoes lie northeast.