Vinça - Finestret - Domanova

Note - The stream crossing at point 20 may be difficult after heavy or prolonged rain. There is no bridge and there are no stepping stones.

1 - START. The north entrance to the beach at the 'Lac de les Escomes', Vinça. We walk up the road, past a fire brigade station... At a roundabout, we go straight ahead, following signs for the Centre Ville, along the Avenue du Général de Gaulle... At 'La Poste' (post office) we turn right. We pass the Placa de la Republica. We descend straight ahead and we go along the Carrer de l'Inga... We go to the left... At a crossroads we go straight ahead, along the Avenue du Conventionnel Fabre, towards Sahorle.

2 - Sahorle (hamlet). We go to the right (chapel on the right), then we immediately go to the left... We go to the left again, to follow the Chemin de la Prunette. This track leaves Sahorle and the track winds alongside orchards and fields.

3 - Junction, track and lane. We go to the right, on a tarmac lane. After a few metres we go to the left ('Cami del Mas Dorandeu')... We go past 'Mas Saurine'. We continue straight ahead on this track for approximately one kilometre.

4 - Junction with a road. We go to the right and we follow the road... The road takes us to Finestret village.

5 - Bus shelter (on the left). We stay on the main road, which descends to the right. Then the road turns to the left. We approach the old part of the village.

6 - Church. We go to the left of the church, then we follow a narrow street, straight ahead, through the old village. The street takes us to the southern end of the village.

7 - Footpath (on the left). We go up the path and we leave the village. The path climbs... At a junction (building on the right), we go straight ahead... At a bifurcation, we go to the right ('Baillestavy').

8 - Canal. We go to the left and we follow the canal... We cross a road and we continue to follow the canal, on the other side of the road.

9 - Joch village. We descend a path on the left, to a street in the village. We cross the street and we descend some steps... At the next street we go to the right, through the village... We pass a church (on our left).

10 - Junction of streets. We go to the left, downhill ('Carrer del Molí')... At a crossing of streets, we go straight ahead on a track, downhill again. We leave Joch... We follow the track through woodland... The track becomes a tarmac lane. We descend and we go past some houses... At a junction with a street on the left, we go straight ahead. After a few more metres:

11 - Junction with a lane on the right ('Carrer de la Costa'). We turn right and we go down the lane. We enter the village of Rigarda... We cross a road in the village. We continue to descend, through the village.

12 - Bridge over a river at the bottom of the village. We cross the bridge and we go to the left, along a track (car park on the right, river on the left)... We pass alongside fields... A church on the left can be visited.

13 - Junction, track and lane. We go straight ahead, along the lane. The lane crosses the line of a stream and bends to the left... Soon we can see Domanova church, on a hill straight ahead... After about half a kilometre the lane crosses another line of a stream and the lane bends to the left. After a few metres, the lane arrives at:

14 - Junction, lane and track (on the right). We go to the right, up the track (olive trees on the left). The track climbs.

15 - Junction, track and path, at a right bend in the track. We go straight ahead, along the path. The path passes through woodland. The path rises and falls a little.

16 - Junction of paths, by a col. We go to the left... Our path approximately follows the line of a ridge... Religious crosses are located alongside the path... The path descends to:

17 - Church (Nostra Senyora de Domanova). We cross an open area (church on the right). We go to the right and we follow a track... The track winds down the hill... At a track junction, we go to the right.

18 - Junction of tracks. We go to the left... After about three hundred metres:

19 - Junction of tracks (vineyard on the left). We go to the right... The track descends.

20 - Stream. We cross the stream... The track climbs... We pass an oratory on the left.

21 - Col and intersection of tracks. We go straight ahead... The track becomes a lane... The lane crosses the line of a stream and we follow the lane to the right.

22 - Intersection of lanes. We go straight ahead. The lane goes to the left, then to the right.

23 - Junction, lane and footpath (immediately after we cross a gully). We go to the left and we follow the footpath... We descend into woodland... At a junction of paths, we go to the right... We enter a car park (cemetery on the right). We cross the car park and we meet a road. We go to the left, along the road. We immediately cross a stream (campsite on the right). We go uphill for a short distance.

24 - Junction, road and path. We go to the right, up the path. The path goes behind some houses and then the path descends to a track on the side of a lake (the 'Lac de les Escomes'). We turn left and we follow the track alongside the lake... We go past a beach... We arrive at the north entrance to the beach where we return to the start of the walk (1).

(A pdf version of this walk description is at:
http://www.walks-vernetlesbains-canigou.eu/wikiloc/vin%C3%A7a-finestret-domanova.pdf - or click on 'View more' below.)