Route of Can Senosa

Route between Sentmenat Caldes de Montbui, in the northeast area of the region. It is a circular road of approximately an hour and a half, which shows the unique landscape of the plain of the Vallès, combination of dry farming and Mediterranean forest of the area. We can do routes of longer duration, of an entire morning or afternoon, throughout the day, and even of a weekend, always by well-preserved natural landscapes of medium mountain, near the Parc Natural de Sant Llorenç del Munt i l’Obac. Also, there are offered excursions to the plain of the Vallès, especially recommended in winter.

This route is a good sample of the rural landscape which, throughout history, has formed the region, before the expansion of residential areas and industrial estates. Falling between the municipalities of Sentmenat and Caldes de Montbui, we will pass by different masias and subtle varieties of Mediterranean forest.

We will leave the riding centre by the access road to the left and will pass in the middle of dry farming: olive trees to the right and left, here alternated with hazelnut trees, with large and vigorous leaves. On the right we can see the old Mas d’en Cisa. When we turn to the path to the right, we visualize the summit of the mount de la Creu at the back, with grain crops in the first place.

When the path goes down slightly to the left, we pass by the side of a careful fence with olive trees, lavender and sunflowers on the right. A series of canes and almond trees follow the profile of the wheat field to be raising as we go down until we pass a small torrent. The margins of the path, increasingly high and clayey, are a good example of the rich agricultural land in the area. We find full of ruderal species: white rocket, gorse, fennel, different grasses… that attract a wide variety of snails, spiders, butterflies and other insects.

After the torrent, we move forward a few meters surrounding the industrial state Mas d’en Cisa to the right, up to recover the path between the fields of grain. When we arrive to a large fig tree we can see Can Fruitós in front and the castle of Sentmenat to the left.

Currently it is being restored as a museum and restaurant. When we arrive to the castle, we find the main track towards Can Fruitós: we turn to the right, passing next to large oaks and after a few holm oaks and pine trees. We can follow this main track that runs between fields and pine forest or take a detour to the left that will take us for a walk by the vegetable gardens, which are always interesting as an example of cultivation of traditional irrigation, in contrast with the dry fields that we see the rest of the way. Along this path we will have a fantastic view of the back of the castle, on the ravine where we will find a few good specimens of pine trees, with the tighter cup and a more intense green that that of the white pine. We find a path that leaves towards Castellar and the residential area of Can Vinyals.

When we leave behind the vegetable gardens, we find alternation between dry farming and young forest of holm oak, with some feral vineyards, until we recover the main path, which we will take to the left again. In this stretch we can enjoy the more traditional aromatic plants: rosemary, lavender and thyme, which we will smell when horses graze them.

We continue along the main road, where to right and left we can see large white pine trees with young holm oaks growing up with force in their shade and with white steppe in the sunny clearings. When we find a fire hydrant, on the left there is a shortcut to Guanta, for those with a bit of experience since it is a closed path.

We continue along the path until we find the Guanta and right away we find a stone bench in the area; behind it starts a path towards the spring of the Bou, only for experts. In this bank there usually lay the people of Sentmenat when walking up to the Virgin surrounded by flowers that we will find just turning the curve.

At this point the path has a greater slope, the terrain is more clayey and we continue climbing between forest consisting of white pine and holm oaks. All of a sudden we will have a stunning view of the castle of Guanta, camouflaged by the vegetation on the rock, and the masia of Can Senosa at the foot. In a curve in the path, we find the access to the masia.

Our path continues rising. We can see how the undergrowth is becoming more dense, of heather and mastic trees, until we arrive to a small esplanade where on the right we will find a path that goes up to the end of the hill, where we will find beautiful surprises: two archaeological remains of the 4th century BC, remains of an Iberian village that is still being studied and the Torre Roja, remains of a small fortress built during the 14th century. The last surprise is the spectacular view of the entire Vallès plain and the Serralada Litoral which obviously made the fortress a good place of surveillance.

We return by the path and continue to the wide road on the right. We begin the descent, soft and winding, following the profile of the mountain. In this sector, more exposed to the sun, we see how it dominates the white pine and the undergrowth is poorer.

We can see how the field is becoming more calcareous before opening to the dry fields of olive trees and forage. We arrive to a crossroads: to the left we would go towards the Roure Gros and Caldes, straight ahead towards the Torre Marimon and to the right we head back to the riding centre.

Now we are back at the top of the Vallès plain, where we can see the richness of the different crops: the ruderal species that surround them, beginning with a few large American aloes on the right, the stubbles of mid-summer, the brambles in flower of the spring and the blackberries in the Autumn, all of them decorated with flowers of different colours such as white and yellow rockets and red poppies.

The forest and the torrent of Guanta, mount of la Creu, the dolmen of Serra Cavallera and Can Fruitós are points of interest near this route.