Roundtrip Port de la Selva-Puig Gros-Cala Tavellera-Port de la Selva 17.5 km

This hike takes you from Port de la Selva to the Platja de Tavallera in the Parc Natural de Cap de Creus and back. The route is beautiful with small coves, beaches, wide views and Mediterranean Maquis shrubland. On the way to Platja de Tavallera you take a path along the coast to Puig Gros and then a descent and difficult ascent from another beach, Platja de Talabra. On the way back the route is more straightforward. The ascent from Platja de Talabra involves some scrambling on a steep hillside and may be qualified difficult, depending on your experience. The path around Puig Talabre and on Puig del Moro is less well-trodden and sometimes possible to loose between scrubs. Another difficulty can be the heat in summer and the lack of facilities on the way. Take enough water. You can only find something to eat and drink in Port de la Selva. There is a small hiking parking at the start, where the GR11 track sets off into the Parc Natural.
The parking is above the village and instead of taking the GR11 into the park, you take a small path downhill into the village and then to the port. You walk along the port and then take a small path along the shore and several beaches, starting with Platja del Pas. The path takes you along two additional beaches and then ascends with stairs to the Carrer de la Punta de la Creu, a road that takes you along the shore to the parking for the Cala Tamariua beach. You descend on stairs to this beach and take a small path along the shore east past Cala Cativa, Cap Mitjá to the cove and beach Cala Fornells. You continue on the path now taking you past Cala Torta, Cala Corquell to Punta Blanca. From here the path ascend to the hill Turó d’en Llaures and then on to Puig Gros. You arrive to a wide unpaved gravel road, which you first walk east to the viewpoint on top of Puig Gros. The views towards Cap de Creus are great. You turn back and then follow the forest road inland past the hill Puignau. Shortly after you take another forest road down towards Puig de Talabre. Just before this lower hill, the forest road turns into a path and you can either walk clockwise or counterclockwise around the Puig. I chose clockwise. The path gets near the sea and you pass a small house in the woods before ascending on a sometimes unclear path. You then see the Platje de Talabra below and you descend quite steeply to this beach with a little lake on one side and the sea on the other. From this very quiet beach you need to find the path to the left of the lake on a steep rocky slope, taking you up to Puig del Moro. The first section involves scrambling and requires concentration and an absence of a fear of heights. After the initial scrambling the going is more easy, but the path is sometimes difficult to find. Watch for the occasional cairns. You traverse Puig del Moro with some old and crumbling stone walls and other constructions and then descend to a more distinguishable path. This path takes you down to the Platja de Tavallera, a beautiful natural mixed pebble and sand beach far away from any parking. It can be busy with boats floating in the natural harbor although there were none during my visit. After having taken a swim you take a path uphill away from the beach next to the path you came down on. At the end you arrive to another forest road you follow for a while. You get to a path which is part of the Camí de Ronda trail and takes you to the hermitage San Baldiri de Tavallera (see https://www.elportdelaselva.cat/en/tourism/what-to-do/hiking-trails/sant-baldiri-de-taballera-s-path/). After having a look you take a path west towards GR11 past orchards. You then get to a forest road/GR11, which takes you all the way back to the starting point.