Environment

This year, the winter rains have been generous. Now, at the end of winter, when the almond trees are blooming and the fields are turning green, it is worth taking a walk along the paths along the Torre del Codina. It is a satisfaction for the senses, to contemplate the beauty of a nature full of life, colors and sensations.

There is a nearby and uncrowded place where the main protagonist is the landscape. It is a hill located south of Tàrrega, and to the west of the Torre del Codina, which rises 460 meters above sea level. It is the hill of Pla de la Ruda, also known according to Ramon Boleda as the Tossal de Guàrdia or the Tossal d’Enfisec. Certainly, its unbeatable strategic and geographical position allows it to monitor a considerable portion of territory.

You have to choose a clear and sunny day and take the path to Verdú. When you start to see the castle tower and the bell tower of the neighboring town, you can see that a hill rises above the road. A little further on, we take the path on the left towards Pla de la Ruda. At the top of the hill, we walk through a wasteland heading north. There, with Verdú behind us, we can contemplate an extensive and immense landscape, like no other.

At our feet, the city of Tàrrega is shown to us from a new perspective. Behind Tàrrega, clearly visible Altet and to the north, the Pyrenees, now snow-capped with the mountains of Andorra, Cadí and Pedraforca. To the east, Talladell, Fonolleres and La Curullada, in the background the mountains of Port del Comte. Further east, with the Pins de la Maresca in the foreground, the winding landscape of La Segarra. To the south, Verdú with the Bovera in the background. To the west, the Vall del Corb, the Molars and the whole plain of Urgell and La Noguera, to the Serra d’Almenara. The villages of Preixana, Bellpuig, Vilagrassa, Anglesola and Tornabous, with Sant Eloi and the Torre Morlans in the foreground, and as a backdrop, the Coll de Balaguer and the imposing wall of the Montsec mountain range.

On the way back, we follow the path along the old gravel road, and turning left we go down towards Tàrrega. Forty minutes walk to Tàrrega and an hour to the Torre del Codina.

All in all a good walk and a party for the senses.

Site and route link: http://bit.ly/2tRGoHk

Jaume Ramon Solé.