Castellfollit de la Roca, the village on the edge of the basalt

A village built on a lava flow

Castellfollit de la Roca sits on top of a basalt cliff that runs for almost a kilometre between the Fluvià river and its tributary, the Toronell. The houses of the old town reach right to the edge of the rock face, and the old church of Sant Salvador closes off the tip of the cliff like the prow of a ship. Sources disagree on how high it is: Turisme Garrotxa says about 50 metres, while the Natural Park and the town council say about 40.

It's a small place in every sense. According to Idescat, the Catalan statistics institute, it has 960 inhabitants (2025) and covers just 0.73 km². It lies within the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, and Turisme Garrotxa presents it as one of the park's gateways.

Don't miss

• The view from below. The village's best-known view is from the bank of the Fluvià and from the wooden footbridge that crosses it. You also get it from the road bridge to the north.
• The tip of the cliff. The Plaça de Josep Pla viewpoint and the old church of Sant Salvador, whose bell tower you can climb.
• The old town. Narrow streets of volcanic stone that don't take long to explore: what to see in the old town.
• The circular walk. The Natural Park's route 13 drops down to the vegetable gardens and the river, then climbs back up a cobbled path. We explain it step by step in the walking route.

Everything there is to see, with its background, is in what to see. The story of the village and the rock is in history and geology.

How to plan your visit

If you're passing through. A couple of hours is enough to wander through the old town, look out from the viewpoint and go down to the river. The official leaflet for the circular walk allows 1 h 15 min for 2.8 km. For driving and buses, see getting there and parking; for choosing the time of day and the season, see plan your visit.

If you want to see the Garrotxa. You can see Castellfollit in a morning, but the area has plenty more: the volcanoes and the Fageda d'en Jordà beech forest, Olot, Besalú and the Vall d'en Bas are only a few kilometres away. For that, it's worth staying the night. In where to stay we group real places to stay by area (the village itself, Sant Joan les Fonts, Olot, Santa Pau, Besalú and the Vall d'en Bas) and explain who each one suits. Ideas for the following days are on our nearby sights page.

If you don't have a car. TEISA buses stop in the village, and there are also organised day trips from Barcelona and Girona that combine Castellfollit with Besalú and the volcanic area. We compare them in day trips and getting there without a car.

A guide made in Olot

This guide is made in Olot, about 7.5 km from the village. It is not the website of the town council or of any tourist office. Every page cites its official sources with the date we checked them, and when two sources say different things, we tell you. When a link to a tour or a place to stay is an affiliate link, we say so next to it. More detail in how this guide is funded and in about us.