Montseny

Nestled between the Mediterranean and the Catalan Mountain Range, Montseny is home to a patchwork of habitats, ranging from deciduous and coniferous mixed forest, through alpine meadows, all the way to rocky high peaks.

The Montseny Biosphere Reserve is characterized by the smells of forest and fog, the sounds of lively rivers, and intense, changing colours.

The ecosystems are resilient and dynamic, while the people who live here continue to play a fundamental role in its conservation.

Committed to the environment and to Montseny, they invite us to celebrate living nature.

Listen to their stories!

The Montseny Biosphere Reserve smells of forest and fog, sounds of lively rivers and displays intense, changing colours.

UNESCO/Ciencia Beat

301.2 km2

Montseny is three times larger than Barcelona city.

650,000 annual visitors

Only 60 km from Barcelona, this long-treasured destination of naturalists is considered the city’s pulmó verd or green lung.

The Montseny newt

Pristine brooks trickling down the tree-clad slopes of Montseny constitute the natural habitat of this endemic amphibian also known as Calotriton arnoldi.

To defend itself against predators, the Montseny newt can release a sticky and very noxious secretion.

Iñaki Relanzón/Proyecto Life Tritó Montseny

The lived landscape

Since the Neolithic, Montseny has gradually become a semi-cultivated landscape.

Pastures, farmhouses, Iberian walls, castles and churches attest of a lived landscape that has barely changed for millenia.

Montseny5/Archivo XPN

Castanyer de Can Cuc

The branches of this remarkable chestnut (Castanea sativa) reach 15 m high and 17 m. At least 20 people holding hands are needed to completely encircle the tree. Montseny is home to 18 of these natural monuments.