Via Ferrata Cala Del Moli, Spain

Siu Hoi Luk
May 16
4 min read

Despite wanting to do via ferratas for so long, this was actually my first one ever. Ever since I learned about via ferratas from the one at Kinabalu, I've always wanted to try it. To me, it seems like the perfect combination of exhilaration and comfort. Because you get to enjoy the beautiful feeling of being close to raw nature, but yet you are still safely attached to bolts on the rock and can rest whenever you need. There are hundreds of via ferrata routes around Europe, especially in the mountainous regions like the Alps and the Pyrenees. For those unfamiliar with via ferrata, it is a way of traversing through mountainous regions by attaching yourself to metal fixtures that are fixed onto the mountainside as protection. These can include cables, steps and ladders. To do one, you need to have some basic climbing equipment:

Harness
Via Ferrata lanyard
Helmet
A good pair of hiking shoes
Resting sling with carabiner (optional)

The last item is optional, but very good to have if you want to rest along the way.

Introduction

Via Ferrata Cala Del Moli was recommended by my friend. It is super beautiful and only an hour and a half drive from Barcelona city. It's located right by the seaside beside the town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols. This is quite a special via ferrata as it is located right at the coast with beautiful scenery of the bay, waves crashing into the cliffs below you and seagulls flying around. The difficulty is around C/D (according to the Austrian scale). For those who have no fear of heights and do a bit of climbing, it should not be an issue to complete it. If you do not do climbing or are afraid of heights, there may be some difficulties in finishing it. There are a few short vertical sections and very short, slightly overhanging sections. But at all the difficult parts, secure metal fixtures are there for a steady grip. The whole via ferrata takes about 1.5 hours to finish. The 2nd part of the via ferrata was closed (unfortunately) due to letting nature recover, and we were told it would only open in June this year. We went really slow on this because it was our first time on via ferrata, and we wanted to enjoy and take photos every few clips. In the end, we took 1 hour for half of the route.

How to Get There

The via ferrata is located in the town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, just 1.5 hours' drive from Barcelona. If you are driving like we did, you can park at the nearby car park and walk 10 minutes to the starting point.

After walking up from the car park, you should end up on a road with a pavilion at the side. To the left of the pavilion, there is a route downwards to the start of the via ferrata.

Shortly after, you'll reach a sign pointing right. Make a sharp right here to the start, do not go forward as that is where the 1st part of the via ferrata ends, and there will be people coming back up. After turning right, you will see the start in a few steps.

The Trail (Via Ferrata, Cala Del Moli)

The trail starts off with a steep descent down the cliffs. Nothing very challenging, it is possible to do this part even without a harness, but having a harness is safer and also a good warmup to get to know the via ferrata set and get the feel of clipping onto the cables. One thing that I found here was that the lanyard sometimes restricts your movements because you cannot move too far from the cable.

After a while, you reach close to the water, about 6-7m above the waves, here the route begins to get a little more difficult. You begin to traverse horizontally across the rocks using metal handles and footholds for support. Some parts are slightly overhanging, but it should not be a problem because there are good metal footholds at all places. There are a few suspended bridges here that you need to cross, there are metal cables above as clipping points and also handholds.

There was also one particularly longer suspension bridge over crashing waves, which was probably the highlight of the via ferrata.

After that, we stopped for a short while for a sip of water and to enjoy the wonderful views surrounding us.

After this, it continues to go along the side of the rocks, same traversing with metal holds and small bridges. You continue to go along the edge of the cliffs until you reach the end. At the last part is a vertical ascent up the cliff face using the metal holds. This is the end of part 1 of the route. Sadly, part 2 was closed to let nature along the route heal.

And then we made it back to the start, successfully completing the via ferrata!

Final Thoughts

This via ferrata was amazing! There was never a dull moment along the way as the scene changed quite frequently with different challenges along the way. Although it was our first via ferrata, it was very manageable. I think that fear of heights is the main factor that would deter someone from completing it. It was not very taxing on the arms. I believe that any physically active person who is confident on their feet and a bit of arm strength would be able to complete it!