A gastronomic stop with history in the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park

The second Sunday of September marks the celebration of the Mare de Déu de Paller festival. We go to the sanctuary for lunch. It is right in the middle of the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park, three kilometers from the town of Bagà. In this unique space, nature shares the spotlight with a chapel from the year 1747 and a restaurant led by Esteve Vivó, which, if you wish, guarantees you a totally Berguedà meal.

Sanctuaries are the first hotels in history. They were in transit areas, and people would stop there to eat and rest. In this case, it was the natural route to Puigcerdà. We are in a mining territory, and it was the believing miners who, once the workday was over, built the road from Bagà to the sanctuary with pick and shovel.

The restaurant has a wide enough menu to be able to taste some of its most iconic dishes. We start with some baby broad beans with baby octopus, a garden zucchini lasagna with mushrooms, and a shepherd's salad with a potato timbale, tuna, hard-boiled egg, anchovies, red and green pepper, and white asparagus, all served over tomato slices.

Despite having a quite decent wine list, we bet on the house wine, which is included in the menu. The second courses are not very original, but, if the product is good, they are unbeatable: pig's trotters with porcini mushroom sauce, grilled lamb and beef entrecote. For dessert, a 'catalanet', nougat ice cream with ratafia, honey and mató cheese, and a 'baronessa', made with yogurt from Berguedà, baked apple and almond brittle.

We are talking about Berguedà cuisine, but above all about local products. The pork is from Ca la Masa, a small factory in Bagà that has been dedicated to producing traditional cured meats since 1870; the lamb and veal are from the Ramaders de Muntanya del Berguedà cooperative; the yogurt is from Delícies del Berguedà, a social project that provides opportunities to people in vulnerable situations, and, to give one last example, the mató cheese is from the Tiraval cheese factory, a family business dedicated to making cheeses in Terradelles.

Esteve and Neus Ruiz, his wife, have been at the helm of the hostel-restaurant that is part of the Santuari de Paller for thirteen years. Although Neus was already working there –and was and continues to be the cook–, it was then that they decided to take the plunge and lead this project.

“We have found our living space. It is a very quiet place. After the hustle and bustle of clients and guests, when night falls, you can enjoy the silence and peace that nature offers,” Esteve tells us, while we pay tribute to the last sips of ratafia.

The Paller Sanctuary and its restaurant are attractive enough in their own right to make for a very pleasant visit from a cultural point of view and very rewarding if we focus on the cuisine. Taking advantage of all these virtues, however, many people also stay there while enjoying hiking routes through these natural surroundings. The Cavalls del Vent route stands out, which begins at the sanctuary and passes through seven mountain refuges. The other notable route starts at the same point and ends at Sant Marc de Brocà, one of the mountains included in the 100 Peaks challenge.

The Santuari de Paller and its restaurant are nature, history, culture, gastronomy, health and sport. But, above all, they are a place of welcome, run by a family that feeds you and that, when you approach, lets you know that peace and tranquility will be part of your stay.