Col de Paracolls via the Santa Engràcia Chapel from Arles-sur-Tech

Magnificent restored chapel and hike through the woods.

Details

399196
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.90 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 666 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 666 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 880 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 266 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park at the sports centre before the bridge over the Tech.

(S/E) From the car park, turn right then left onto the tarmac road and follow it uphill to the sign for "Mas d'en Draguines".

(1) Take the road that branches off to the left and follow it to the farmhouse (altitude 335m).

(2) Leave the road and take the marked path that climbs to the right. Ignore the paths branching off to the left and right and follow this good path until it crosses another at an altitude of 655m.

(3) From this point, take a detour to the "La Croix" viewpoint (665m) and "Place Sébastien" with a superb panorama.

(4) Enjoy the superb panorama, then retrace your steps to the previous junction.

(3) Follow the path on the left heading south to the Santa Engràcia Chapel.

(5) Visit this magnificent restored chapel (there is a sign nearby explaining its history and restoration). Turn back about 40 metres and then turn left (south) to reach a spring (wooden sign marked "source").

(6) Retrace your steps and turn left onto the path leading to the chapel.

(3) Take the path that climbs left towards the Paracolls Pass and the Santa Engràcia Battery (head west then south-west). Continue to an altitude of 851m (sign for "Batterie de Santa Engracia").

(7) Turn left (heading northeast) to the Santa Engràcia Battery, a stone platform.

(8) Enjoy the beautiful view, then turn back.

(7) Take the path you left on the left (south-west) and continue to the next fork.

(9) Leave the Paracolls Pass, altitude 901m (towards Pilon de Belmaig), on your left and begin the descent via theGR®®10(red and white markings) until you reach the road at an altitude of 340m.

(10) Follow it to the right, then turn right to cut across the bend and continue along the road, leaving theGR®® which heads off to the left.

(1) Turn left to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 266 m - Sports centre car park, near the - Tech (fleuve)
  2. 1 : km 0.51 - alt. 302 m - Turn off towards Mas d'en Draguines
  3. 2 : km 1.03 - alt. 329 m - Mas d'en Draguines
  4. 3 : km 2.9 - alt. 659 m - Crossroads and chapel
  5. 4 : km 3.03 - alt. 657 m - Belvedere and cross
  6. 5 : km 3.52 - alt. 651 m - Santa Engràcia Chapel
  7. 6 : km 3.76 - alt. 670 m - Source
  8. 7 : km 5.41 - alt. 842 m - Signposted "Batterie de Santa Engràcia"
  9. 8 : km 5.66 - alt. 879 m - Grande Batterie (platforme)
  10. 9 : km 7.12 - alt. 810 m - GR10 junction
  11. 10 : km 9.06 - alt. 328 m - Return route
  12. S/E : km 9.9 - alt. 266 m - Sports centre car park

Notes

Park at the sports centre on the left (Battla) before the bridge over the Tech, 800m before the entrance to Arles-sur-Tech.

Worth a visit

Santa Engracia Chapel

 Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 31 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
User 9872161

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with the main destination being the Chapel of Santa Engracia, a gradual climb and a fairly steep descent for which hiking boots are strongly recommended.

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User 25976159

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike – two points to note, however: it is easy to miss the path to the chapel at the start of the route if you follow the orange markers instead of the yellow ones (which are not the right ones) and the descent via the GR10 towards Arles is indeed challenging...
Otherwise, the scenery is breathtaking and the suggested route is perfect

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Xavier du 66
Xavier du 66
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Same as previous reviews

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nespado
nespado

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We met only one hiker coming from the Batère refuge towards Banyuls-sur-Mer.

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hansdemoor@gmail.com
hansdemoor@gmail.com

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice route, lots of people in the chapel area, another path to get there from Amélie.
After a good two hours of fairly tough walking over scree, you come across families in flip-flops arriving from your left via a well-maintained path... quite comical. After that, it becomes a really nice hike again.

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line32
line32

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We took inspiration from the comments and did the tour in reverse. The result: a magnificent sunny day discovering a superb site (hats off to the association that made this possible), breathtaking views of the valley and no gruelling return journey!

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Pat66
Pat66

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful hike with an easy-to-follow route. The 600-metre climb in the first part is gentle, passing through beautiful forests of holm oak and chestnut trees. The site of the Engracia chapel is magnificent and ideal for a picnic break. The return via the GR10 is more challenging, but with good shoes, it's no problem. A beautiful hike in a green valley sheltered from the tramontane wind.

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pikalilie
pikalilie

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We don't usually have any trouble following the route, but at the start of this hike, we were misled by other markings. So the beginning was a bit chaotic and difficult... Luckily, we're all pretty fit !
Once we got back on track, the hike was very pleasant with beautiful weather and breathtaking scenery. Visiting the chapel at the summit was the icing on the cake! Don't forget to ring the bell A shopkeeper recommended it to us!
As other hikers had warned us, the descent at the end of the hike is tough. Our legs were wobbly when we got back to the car.

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le canigou
le canigou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello Visorando team,
Great hike, except for the steep descent

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annemarie
annemarie

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

There weren't many hikers on this trail... But I think the cold weather explains that! It was a beautiful hike. For the return trip, I opted for Amelie les Bains and then the GR de Pays trail to Arles to avoid the GR10, which is quite challenging. I would recommend it

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annemarie
annemarie

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

There weren't many hikers on this trail... But I think the outdoor temperatures partly explain that! It was a beautiful hike. For the return trip, I opted for Amelie les Bains and then the GR de Pays trail to Arles to avoid the GR10, which is quite challenging.

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VaradrouilleurKoz
VaradrouilleurKoz

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with magnificent landscapes.
A lovely break at the chapel.
However, although we followed the route carefully (very easy with Visorando), we ended up walking further than indicated on the map.
The descent via the GR is very difficult.
A good time nonetheless

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TETRAS73
TETRAS73

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I had a wonderful walk, although it was the opposite of the description. The GR10 is very steep, so it's best to follow it on the way up. Be careful on the way down not to head towards Amélie-les-Bains, as the start of the trail to Arles-sur-Tech isn't obvious in that direction.

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PAT le lion
PAT le lion

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike with stunning views, lovely chapel site, the return is a little technical but not difficult.

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guylouis
guylouis

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Difficulty finding the starting point. Please specify the sports centre called Centre Sud Canigo. Coming from Amélie, turn left before the bridge over the Tech.
point 3, add "turn left to make a detour"...
difficult descent on the GR 10 trail

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