The Serra de Rodes mountain range offers numerous excursion destinations. One of them is the small white hermit chapel of Sant Onofre. You can see them from afar on the mountain slope in the sun with the promise of rewarding our hike with a heavenly view of the Gulf of Roses and the wide plain of the Empordà.
Sant Onofre
First mentioned in a document in 1362, it belongs to the parish of Palau-Saverdera. Every year the folk festival takes place here on the second Saturday in May Aplec de Sant Onofre instead. The little church is the destination of our Easter hike.
Serra de Rodes
We discover a plaque with a plan of the Serra de Rodes. The hermit chapel of Sant Onofre is also registered on it. First of all, it’s off to the sea to the viewing platform of Mas Ventós. Already here we have a magnificent panorama over the Alt Empordà. Our gaze sweeps over the Bay of Roses, the Medes Islands, the Aiguamolls and the Plains of the Empordà to the Canigó summit in the Pyrenees. The view from the chapel couldn’t be better. We will test it. So we walk a little back to the signpost to Sant Onofre and follow the markings of the large hiking trail.
Spectacular panoramic views of Sant Onofre
Again and again, the view of the coast and the bright blue Mediterranean Sea inspires on the way. We don’t get tired of capturing the spectacular view with the camera. It’s almost impossible to get lost, so you can relax and enjoy nature and views. High on a rocky outcrop greets us from afar Sant Salvador Castle. After a while we reach a small square. From here the path leads down with wooden railings to the hermit chapel of Sant Onofre. The dazzling white-painted little church stands out clearly from the surrounding landscape. Deep below us, the small medieval villages lie in the green expanse of the Empordà. The sky shines light blue. On the horizon he immerses himself in the Ultramarine of the Golf de Roses. The skyscrapers on Santa Margarida beach have shrunk to toys. White sails in miniature sway in the wind. A bird of prey circles high above us.
The mountain meadows of the Serra de Rodes are scented at our feet. Butterflies stagger in the wind. White and pink cistros shine between blue lupines, purple blossoms and chimney-red heads. Lavender and thyme beguile the noses.
