Dormant volcanoes, endless dunes, and impossible rocks: eight otherworldly sites in Catalonia

BarcelonaYou don't need a ticket to Iceland or a rocket to Mars. This summer you can travel to another planet without leaving Catalonia and discover places that seem otherworldly. We're talking about places that don't fit the typical postcard, neither the gentle green of the Pyrenees, nor the Mediterranean gold of the coves of the Empordà. They are spaces that seem to have emerged from a dream, a fairy tale, or a distant planet. And yet, they are right here, close to home.

Some are so unique that they're famous, like Montserrat or the Cardona salt mountain, but in this article you'll also discover lesser-known places. Visiting them is like taking an express, aesthetic, adventurous, and almost spiritual journey to another universe.

Specifically, we've selected eight places in Catalonia that don't seem to belong on this planet: dry, broken lands reminiscent of the lunar surface, forests full of giant moss-covered rocks, or craters that still breathe under the shade of the trees. These are unusual geographies for travelers seeking wonder and, above all, the feeling of having traveled far without leaving the country.

The Croscat volcano, Garrotxa

A gigantic wound pierces the green skin of a dormant volcano. It's the Croscat clayey ridge, an imposing reddish scar that exposes the bowels of the youngest volcanic cone on the Iberian Peninsula. The visual impact is so overwhelming that it's hard to believe this almost Martian landscape is natural—let alone that it's in Catalonia. Vegetation covers the entire mountain except for that bare fragment, which seems to be sticking out in the middle of an unknown planet. Add to this the lava flow that extends like a black tongue for more than six kilometers, and the sensation of walking in another world is complete.

The Place of Tudela, Alt Empordà

Between Cadaqués and Cap de Creus lies the Tudela Nature Reserve, a dry, lunar landscape shaped by the north winds and water. Here, the oldest rocks in Catalonia—schists and pegmatites—take on whimsical shapes: a camel, an eagle, a rabbit... Salvador Dalí saw a sacred space, made for gods rather than men. And it truly seems like a surreal universe, worthy of Dalí's genius. But even that didn't save him: in the 1960s, Club Med urbanized the area. Today, with the resort dismantled, Tudela is an internationally award-winning example of ecological and landscape restoration. Little by little, nature has begun to speak its language again, with that air of unreality that makes it unique.

The Island Organ Formations, Northern Catalonia

Another landscape that seems straight out of a distant planet is that of the Organas de Isla, in northern Catalonia. These curious sand and clay formations, peacefully sculpted by rain and wind over millions of years, create a structure that seems cut by alien hands, but is actually the pure work of nature. These ten-meter-high chimneys form a labyrinth of whimsical silhouettes that resemble a fantasy setting. Also known as fairy chimneys, they remind us of Cappadocia, Turkey.

The Enchanted Rocks, Garrotxa

In the north of Collsacabra, among damp and silent beech forests, appears a chaos of giant rounded boulders: these are the Roques Encantades. According to legend, a demon had a burrow and, when bored, would roll the rocks down the mountain, where they would pile up in a beech forest. One day, an angel chained him to the stones and put an end to his torment. This place, of wild beauty, has recently been the victim of excessive publicity and disrespectful behavior: graffiti, noise, uprooted moss, cabins... That's why protective measures have been implemented, and it is recommended to visit with discretion and silence. There's no need to promote it: the magic of the place is only revealed to those who come with respect.

The Salt Mountain of Cardona, Bages

The Cardona Salt Mountain is a unique natural phenomenon, a silent giant of salt that seems to emerge from another dimension. Its 120 meters in height are merely the visible tip of an immense diapir that plunges nearly two kilometers underground, a true subterranean world that reveals itself to visitors during an hour-long exploration at a depth of 86 meters. This landscape, of singular and delicate beauty, seems the work of another planet, with textures and shapes that only slow erosion has been able to sculpt.

Basturs lakes, Pallars Jussà

In the heart of the Pre-Pyrenees, the Basturs lakes might be imagined as two open pupils in the middle of the fields. The larger one, round like a giant's eye, and the smaller one, surrounded by crops. Both are karst lakes formed by the dissolution of underground rocks. But they are not simple pools of still water: they are living, active, and unique worlds, both for their round shape and their karst origin. What's more, unique creatures live within: an algae that has only been found here, and even a carnivorous plant that floats like a creature from another planet.

Montserrat, Bages

Montserrat mountain could be a product of the imagination. But its rounded and slender spires and monoliths, rising like impossible sculptures in the middle of the Catalan landscape, are the result of a unique combination of material, structure, and erosion. Millions of years ago, raging rivers accumulated boulders and sediments at the bottom of an ancient gulf. Time, wind, and rain have sculpted this extremely hard conglomerate—the bone—to create a truly legendary setting. The monks, the flute-playing musicians, the Cavall Bernat... popular imagination has given names and myths to shapes that seem handcrafted by gods, giants, or mythological beings. But its beauty is not supernatural: it is geological. And yet, it continues to leave us speechless, as if born from a dream.

La Punta del Fangar, Baix Ebre

It's not the Sahara, but it's known as the Delta Desert. Punta del Fangar is a sandbar more than seven kilometers long that juts into the sea like a mirage. Shifting dunes, endless sand, and no shadow beyond the lighthouse—the iconic Lantern–, the only building in this desert landscape. It can only be reached on foot, on a hike that feels like an expedition into the heart of nowhere. But this desert is alive: it's home to one of the best-preserved dune areas on the Iberian Peninsula and a refuge for seabirds that nest there in spring. With good footwear, water, and respect, Fangar Beach is a must-visit, as it reveals the wildest and most fascinating side of the Delta.