Discover the secrets of the Cardener Ecorail
The Cardener Ecorail is a seven-kilometre route along old railways that have been adapted to modern times without losing their essence. Throughout the week, these tracks are used to transport the salt extracted from the mines in Súria and, on Sundays, they take families keen to discover the Bages Plain aboard a highly original means of locomotion: the Ciclorail.
Can you imagine pedalling along train tracks? Well, on the Ciclorail, that is precisely what you can do. The stars of the show at the Cardener Ecorail are two bicycles fitted to a metal platform attached to railway tracks. As simple as that. A fun form of transport that lets you enjoy the Bages landscape from along the salt mine train tracks, with the minimum of effort!
Once you embark on the journey, you will find the following points of interest between Callús and the Mas de Sant Iscle:
- The town of Callús.
- The Joncadella sanctuary, an 18th-century church that contains an image of the patron saint of the Bages Plain.
- The Les Torres estate, a defensive architectural complex dating back to the 14th century.
- The Sèquia, a canal built in 1339 to transport water to the city of Manresa after years of drought.
- The Mas de Sant Iscle, a Romanesque church that is also now a winery bearing the Pla de Bages Designation of Origin.
- The Agulla Park, an artificial lake used for leisure activities.
The route is circular and there is a restriction on the activity: people have to be at least 1m 40 cm tall to ride the Ciclorail. However, Cardener Ecorail has an alternative for smaller passengers: the Trenpat, a small train that can take a maximum of seven people along the same route as the Ciclorail, but motor powered. This option is suitable for everybody, including older people and those with limited mobility.
Cardener Ecorail never loses sight of the industrial history of the lands that it passes through. The Bages Plain has a close relationship with the world of railways, especially since the Barcelona-Manresa line was inaugurated in 1859, as certified in the Ecorail Welcome Centre in the town of Callús. In fact, the visitor centre is a train restaurant carriage, a real example from the International Sleeping-Car Company that travelled the route from Lisbon to Paris in the 1930s.
More information:
Cardener Ecorail Manresa Tourist Office
Bages Tourist Board