Santa Cova is a small chapel (built 1696 - 1705) cut from the side of the mountain and is accessible via a 1.42 km path from Montserrat Monastery.
It is important to remain silent when walking in and around the chapel. There is a smaller chapel within the Chapel of the Holy Cave, it is cross-shaped and supported by the rock formation of the mountain. This is where the original Holy Cave was. Here, to the right of the altar, you will find a reproduction of the Sacred Image. This is a reproduction of the original Black Madonna that was built inside the Basilica of Montserrat.
Above the image in the chapel is a hemispherical dome. This allows the light to illuminate the area where the image is located.
The chapel was damaged during the Napoleonic Wars (1811 - 1812). Francesc de Paula del Villar I Lozano planned the restoration of the chapel in 1857. The work began in October 1856 and ended in December 1859.
in 1994 a forest fire destroyed the roofs next to the chapel and cloister. This resulted in damage to the floor, furniture, and other areas of the chapel. The following autumn, heavy rains caused a huge rock slide on the access path to Santa Cova as the forest fire removed the plant life that was supporting the rocks.
A project to restore Santa Cova by the architect Arcadi Pla I Masmiquel in 1995 began in 1996. However, on September 5, 1995, heavy rains caused a movement in the skylight of the dome of the chapel. This would have been due to the fact that previous forest fires had damaged the base. This made everything collapse. The same architect put together a second design and completely restored the Holy Cave. It was opened on March 19, 1997.
The route starts next to the Montserrat Monastery Cremallera station and takes a path leading down past the Aeri de Montserrat cable car station. The path passes via numerous sculptures and shrines including the wrought iron catholic cross.
The access path, called Cami Santa Cova and Cami Rosari, from the monastery is a concrete walkway with a small amount of descent and ascent to reach the Santa Cova chapel. Return back to the monastery via the same path. There is a funicular service (Santa Cova Funicular) that can be used to skip the uphill section.
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The Montserrat tourism website lists Santa Cova as the Holy Grotto with opening hours of 10:30h to 15:30h.
The route is entirely along a paved surface so the chances of coming across poisonous Pine Processionary Caterpillars is very low. The route is also mostly in shade so nice on a hot day.
This is a short walking route not far from the monastery and predominantly in the shade so I always do it with a small rucksack of the essentials. Emergency waterproof jacket is optional depending on the weather forecast.
Take 1 or more litres of water because there is nowhere to top up water bottle along the route, however water is available at the drinking fountains or in the monastery cafeteria.
Address: Monestir de Montserrat, Monestir de Montserrat. 08199
This was a short walk I did as part of a Montserrat Monastery visit. On this occasion I used the FGC cremallera de Montserrat to get to the monastery. Equally valid is the Aeri de Montserrat Cable car to get to the monastery.
I recommend the Tot Montserrat ticket but for a comparison of the different Montserrat tickets available visit the Montserrat day trip prices section.
An EASY 1.4 KM walking route from Montserrat Monatery via Cami de la Santa Cova to the Santa Cova chapel passing via monuments and sculptures with a distinctly religious theme. Return via same path.
Distance: 1.42 Km
Difficulty: Easy
Return Travel Fare: €24.00
Transport Network: FGC & Cremallera
Mountain Forecast weather for Montserrat Mountain
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