Hermitage of San Emeterio and San Celedonio

The view does the work here. The ground falls away to a reservoir, the mountain ranges stack up behind it, and isolated lakes sit off to the sides; the two hermitages and the castle line up in one frame, which is the picture most people leave with. Then there are the cliffs themselves — the rock beds are bent into a large anticline, a fold you can trace across the face with your eye. The climb up is an easy one, and as a family outing the whole trip runs to about two and a half hours.

• No water, no toilets: there is nothing of the kind within 800 m of the hermitage, so carry what you need for the climb up and back.
• The walk is the visit: the nearest car park sits about 950 m away in a straight line, and everything past it is uphill on foot.
• Allow the time: as a family outing the trip runs to about two and a half hours, though the climb itself is an easy one.
• An information board stands within about 60 m of the hermitage.

The driving ends well below the church. The nearest car park sits about 950 m from the hermitage in a straight line, with a second one about 1.8 km out, and the rest is on foot: the climb at Samitiers, uphill the whole way but an easy one, with the view opening wider as you gain height. An information board stands within about 60 m of the hermitage, so you can get your bearings on the ranges and the reservoir once you are up.

Best: a clear day. The climb pays off in what you can see from the top — the ranges, the reservoir below, the fold in the cliffs — and cloud or haze empties all of it out.

Avoid: starting late. The way up is a climb with no lighting on it, the outing can run to two and a half hours there and back, and the ground at the top sits above cliffs.