Montserrat Monastery Hiking Trails: 4 Routes + The Two I Hiked

Most people visit Montserrat for the monastery, but the mountains were the part that made me want to stay longer. Trails lead away from the monastery toward viewpoints, old hermitages, and religious sites. If you have more time in Montserrat, I’d highly recommend adventuring into the mountains.

I’ve visited Montserrat twice, and hiking ended up being one of my favorite parts of both trips. You don’t need to dedicate an entire day to it either. There are easy walks you can fit around the monastery as well as longer routes if hiking is one of your main reasons for visiting.

In this guide, I’ll break down four Montserrat Monastery hiking trails ranging from easy to difficult, what you can expect from each, and what I learned from hiking at Montserrat myself.

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Is Montserrat Good for Hiking?

I think so, especially if the mountains are one of the reasons you’re visiting in the first place. You don’t have to commit to a full-day trek either. There are short Montserrat hikes near the monastery, trails accessed by the funiculars, and longer routes that take you deeper into the mountain.

Some of the shorter trails are paved, so they’re a bit more accessible for families. Other trails start paved then get a bit rockier in some sections so proper shoes are necessary.

For me, hiking the surrounding area was what made Montserrat feel like more than a sightseeing stop.

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Which Montserrat Hike Should You Choose?

When coming to Montserrat, I looked up a few options for hiking. I was able to do two of these hikes, but included the rest to help you make a decision on what works for you.

Camí de la Santa Cova (Monumental Rosary Path) — Easy
~ 1 mile | 45–60 minutes
Choose this if you want an easy walk that combines mountain scenery with some of Montserrat’s religious history.

Sant Miquel Cross — Easy
~ 1.2 miles | 40–60 minutes
A short uphill walk to a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the monastery, surrounding mountains and valley.

Sant Joan – Miranda de Santa Magdalena — Moderate
~ 1.4 miles| 1.5 hours
Choose this if you want more of a mountain hike, with panoramic views and old hermitages tucked into the cliffs.

Sant Jeroni Summit Loop — Difficult
~ 6.6 miles | ~5 hours
The most substantial option of these four, climbing to Montserrat’s highest peak. Best if you want hiking to be a major part of your day.

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Camí de la Santa Cova (Monumental Rosary Path)

Of the two hikes I did at Montserrat, Santa Cova was the easier one. I reached the trail by taking the Santa Cova funicular down from the monastery and following the Camí de la Santa Cova toward the chapel.

The trail follows the side of the mountain, passing 15 sculptural monuments representing the mysteries of the Rosary before reaching Santa Cova, a small chapel built into the rock. Most of the route has views over the valley, but that means the path is fairly exposed, which is worth keeping in mind on a hot, sunny day.

The actual hiking took around 45 minutes, although the whole outing was over an hour after taking photos and waiting for the funicular. I didn’t find it particularly difficult, but the return toward the funicular is uphill.

Even though this trail wasn’t challenging, it was enough to get us away from the monastery and into the mountains without taking up a huge portion of our day.

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Sant Miquel Cross via Camí de Sant Miquel

Creu de Sant Miquel is another relatively short hike, leading uphill from the monastery to a panoramic viewpoint marked by Saint Michael’s Cross.

I could see the cross from the monastery complex and watched hikers making their way toward it during my visit. One of the things that makes this route appealing is the perspective in the opposite direction: from the viewpoint, you can look back toward the monastery with the surrounding mountains and valley beyond it.

The route is about 1.2 miles out and back from Santa Cova Funicular, and should take you around 1.5 hours to complete. Here’s the AllTrails route .

Montserrat’s official Hermitages Path also passes the Sant Miquel Cross viewpoint if you want to continue farther into the mountains.

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Sant Joan – Miranda de Santa Magdalena

This was my favorite of the two hikes I did at Montserrat. I started by taking the Sant Joan funicular higher into the mountains, then followed the trail from the upper station past Sant Joan Chapel and the Sant Joan and Sant Onofre hermitages, which are tucked directly into the cliffs.

From there, I continued toward Miranda de Santa Magdalena. The trail gets rockier as you climb, with some steep steps and wide views across the mountains. This was the point where Montserrat started to feel much more like a hiking destination to me rather than somewhere I’d come primarily to see the monastery.

The trek took me roughly 1.5 hours with stops to explore and take photos. It’s still a relatively short hike, but compared with Santa Cova, I felt much more immersed in the mountain landscape.

If hiking and scenery are a bigger priority for you than the religious sites, this is the shorter route I’d lean toward. Here’s the exact route I followed on AllTrails.

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Sant Jeroni Summit Loop

Sant Jeroni is Montserrat’s highest peak, making this the most challenging option on this list. The Sant Jeroni Summit Loop is about 6.6 miles with 2,217 feet of elevation gain and takes around five hours to complete.

Reaching the summit gives you panoramic views across Montserrat and the surrounding landscape, but this is a very different commitment from the shorter hikes above. If you choose this route, hiking becomes a significant part of your Montserrat day rather than something you fit around the monastery and other attractions.

It’s also the option that interests me most for a future visit. Next time, I’d like to dedicate more of my day to one substantial hike like this rather than try to squeeze several shorter trails into the same afternoon. Here’s the Sant Jeroni Summit Loop on AllTrails.

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What to Know Before Hiking in Montserrat

Mountain weather can change quickly.
On my first visit, clouds rolled over the mountain while we were at the top of the Sant Joan funicular, followed by rain and eventually a downpour. The fog looked incredible around the rock formations, but we felt much more exposed higher up and cut our hiking short.

Give yourself more time than the hike itself requires.
Our Santa Cova walk took around 45 minutes of actual walking but more than an hour once we added photos and waiting for the funicular. If you’re using mountain transportation, build that extra time into your day.

Wear shoes that match the trail you’re choosing.
Some of the easier routes are paved, but around Sant Joan we encountered more elevation, rocky terrain and steep sections. If hiking is a major part of your day, I’d dress for the trail rather than for the monastery.

Check your exact route before you start.
Several trails connect around Montserrat, and routes with similar destinations can have very different distances and elevation depending on where you begin. I typically use AllTrails to choose and save my hiking route before heading out, but Montserrat also publishes official hiking itineraries if you want to compare routes from the monastery.

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Final Thoughts on Hiking in Montserrat

Montserrat has plenty of hiking trails that you can make hiking as small or as big a part of your visit as you want. Whatever route you chose, I think exploring beyond the monastery is one of the best ways to experience Montserrat.

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