The Cavall Bernat in Montserrat is not the only Cavall Bernat in the district of Bages; in the natural park of Sant Llorenç del Munt i l’Obac and in the municipality of Mura, there is the Cavall Bernat de la Vall as well. The Cavall Bernat de la Vall is also a prominent conglomerate monolith, although it is far from the size, the presence and the clearly phallic shape of the Cavall Bernat in Montserrat.
The Cavall Bernat de la Vall picks the name from the house of La Vall (= the valley) that locates between the mountain range of Sant Lleïr where the road goes up to the pass of Estenalles, and the range of Les Garses further east. On top of La Vall there is the pass of Finestrelles or Llor where several paths cross, and, near to pass of Finestrelles, on the slope that goes up towards the northern end of the rounded shape of Montcau, the Cavall Bernat de la Vall rises. Since it comes out in a topographically low area, Cavall Bernat de la Vall is poor visible; it is not as visible in the landscape as, for example, the Paller de Tot l’Any that stands out on the ridge of the Camí Ral.
The Cavall Bernat de la Vall is about 40 meters high on the east side facing La Vall and about 15 meters on the mountain side. The summit splits in two peaks with a wide gap in between. Despite its modest size, the summit of Cavall Bernat de la Vall requires climbing to reach.
The 1st image displays the Cavall Bernat de la Vall. The 2nd and 3rd images display its location versus the nearby mountains: below the rounded shape of the northern end of Montcau (2nd photo), thus the slope facing the ridge of Els Emprius with La Vall in between (3rd photo).
[photos Jordi Badia]
- See the article Cavall Bernat, in Catalan, by Jordi Badia.
- See the article Conglomerat (= Conglomerate), in Catalan, by Jordi Badia.