Did you know that Pablo Picasso spent almost three months in Gósol, in Berguedà, between May and August 1906? Experts agree that this stay in Gósol brought about an inflection point in his artistic development, and that it would be in this little village, hidden in the Catalan Pyrenees, where the artist would take his first steps towards cubism. Pedratour invites you to discover this fascinating story with a unique hiking package that takes us to walk on Picasso’s footsteps through the Pedraforca and the Cadí. The Picasso Way is a trail following the path the artist used to arrive in Gósol, in May 1906, and to leave town towards Paris 12 weeks later.

The full trail goes from Guardiola de Berguedà to Bellver de Cerdanya, passing through Gósol, in a 5-days journey. For those who don’t have 5 days off in a row, Pedratour offers a tasting of the Picasso Way in a group and with a guide from the evening of April 23 to April 25, following the trail Picasso took to go from Guardiola de Berguedà –where the train arrived, once upon a time– to Gósol.

Picasso’s journey to Gósol

That’s our proposal to do the first part of the Picasso Way in a group and with a guide in April. 2 stages, from Guardiola de Berguedà to Saldes, and from Saldes to Gósol, with a first night in Guardiola to meet the guide and the rest of the group.

We leave Guardiola de Berguedà towards Coll dels Fangassos, passing by the Romanesque monastery of Sant Llorenç prop Bagà and some awesome crags. Then, we descend to the Saldes valley and we cross the river on a wooden bridge. Later, the trail ascends towards the Sant Julià de Freixens chapel. Higher up, we’ll find the Pedraforca, who will escort us the rest of the trip (unless we do the complete route, in that case we’ll only see it until we reach the Pas de Gosolans mountain pass). Under the imposing vigilance of the magical mountain, we head for Maçaners, then for Saldes, where we’ll spend the night.

From Saldes, the trail takes us to Gósol through the clayey crags of Coll de la Trapa. In this stage, we’ll find ourselves in an amazing desertic landscape, resulting of the eroded clay outcrops. The spectacular colours of these badlands won’t leave us indifferent, as they did not leave Picasso indifferent. The bright ochres and reds of Coll de la Trapa dominated the artist’s palette during his stay, characterizing the paintings he did in Gósol.

Once in Gósol, we take you visit the Picasso Interpretation Centre. There, we’ll see lithographs of the works he did in Gósol –the original ones are scattered all around the world, it’s the handicap of having such an internationally-renowned artist. In spring 2022, the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid will gather the most relevant of these works in a great exhibition on this trip that inspired Picasso so much. This exhibition on Picasso in Gósol is the culmination of a great research on the importance this 80 days in Gósol had for the artist’s development and, by extension, for contemporary art history.

The departure from Gósol

After spending 80 days in Gósol, the painter embarked on a journey back to Paris. However, before that he had to descend from Gósol –which was very isolated by the time– to Cerdanya. Thus, he gave us a second part of the Picasso Way. From Gósol to Bellver de Cerdanya, in 2 more stages, we can keep following Picasso’s footsteps in his departure from the Bergadan village.

As Picasso did in 1906, if we do the full trail, we leave Gósol through the Reapers’ Trail, the path the people from Gósol used to go to Cerdanya for the reaping season. Passing by Cap de la Portella we reach El Collell, a hill which separates the Llobregat river’s basin from the Segre’s one. There, we leave the Pedraforca Massif to penetrate the Cadí mountain chain. We climb the Cadí through alpine meadows where we can enjoy the company of eagles and vultures and, with some luck, of chamois. Finally, we reach the stage’s highest point at the Pas de Gosolans mountain pass, which connects the regions of Berguedà and Cerdanya. As we cross the pass, we enter the impressive north slope of Cadí. From its lovely location at the bottom of the rocky slope, the Prat d’Aguiló mountain hut, where we’ll spend the night, welcomes us.

To complete the route, we only must descend from Prat d’Aguiló to the Cerdanya valley. We’ll pass through Talló, where it’s mandatory to admire the magnificent Romanesque church of Santa Maria de Talló. In Bellver de Cerdanya, where the trail meets its end, our transport back to Guardiola de Berguedà will be waiting for us.

The Picasso Way in a group and with a guide in April!

If you are fascinated by art history and you love hiking through unique landscapes, the Picasso Way is your route! On this April, let our guides take you for an unrepeatable weekend walking along the first part of this trail. Make the most of a 2-days getaway doing the first stretch of the Picasso Way in a group and with a guide you’ll be left wanting more! And, should you have the chance, take a look at the full route Pedratour organises for you. You’ll love it!