Tamariu - Aigua Xelida

On the north side of Tamariu in the direction of Aiguablava, the hillside is filled by an estate of luxury villas and a private mini-village that runs down to the tiny beach of Aigua Xelida. Recently they have improved the paths in the area and it's now easier to walk close to the cliffs above some of the tiny rocky bays with some spectacular scenery. Be warned, there are lots of steps on this particular walk - more than 200 in each of the two upward stretches.

Access is easy from Tamariu following the sign posts to Aigua Xelida (or Gelida?) slightly out of town and up the hill into the estate. At the top roundabout the road runs down hill to an area where it splits in two with easy parking on both sides.

The main access to Aigua Xelida beach is straight in front of us, down through the trees on a dirt path full of soft pine needles. However for this walk we're making a slightly different loop, so we take the cutting next to the white house down to the next road. The house itself is a bit unusual - at the end of the cutting and when we look back we can see the glass end of a long thin pool - it must be swimming with a view.

We follow the road around to find the entrance to the cliffside path. This has recently been done up and the paths are now indicated with yellow painted wooden markers. We are actually high above a small bay and a couple of small islands with seagulls nesting on the cliff face. The path curls around the top giving unspoilted coastal views before running slightly off the cliff edge and round a small gully. This small gully is a sea-hole, a long crack in the cliffs that allows you to see down to the sea below, no more than about a metre wide all the way down. With a suitable wind, the gap makes the noise of the sea echo and moan through the gap almost like a voice.

We now follow the path down to the edge of a small rocky bay and then around a path with low growing pines reaching out blocking our way as fun obstacles to scramble around. Around the back of a fisherman's house we follow the steps down to the main and very tiny beach at Aigua Xelida. The water though is crystal clear. The beach itself has a small natural stream with fresh water running across the rocks of the beach directly into the sea. The first time we visited this bay a while ago, was on a cold January day, and the stream had frozen (Xelida=iced) with icicles dangling from the moss.

From the bay, we now head upwards. It's mostly steps now to the top of the cliff on the north side. The path is good though and well maintained with a small wall for guidance. The path runs next to a private village type estate which means that if you do go up this way, the only walking route back to the start (without retracing your steps), is the loop we're doing.

The views from the path are excellent back to the beach and coves, slightly hidden behind the trees. At the top we meet one of the roads into the estate. This is very much luxury estate territory with big houses in big mature gardens overlooking the sea. The road technically is a dead end, but for walkers there are two options.

The first is to take one of the cuttings to the left down through the houses to a path that runs closer to the cliffs. This is relatively short though and it's 100 steps back up to the top. This then gets added to the next 100 steps as we head up and out on the wooden steps that run between the houses up the hill (next to the red house).

At the top we stay with an estate road that curls to a track. At the point the track meets the road there is a cutting down towards Tamariu. But instead we stay on top and follow the road and path back to the car.

See also: Palafrugell, Tamariu, Begur residential and Esclanya - Far de Sant Sebastia (Llafranc) to Tamariu - Fornells and Aiguablava walk (GR92)

For swimming: Swimming at Aigua Xelida (Tamariu) - Swimming at the beach at Tamariu