Ria-Sirach combines historic buildings with challenging hikes. This offers two distinct focuses for planning a trip: churches, ruins and chapels on the one hand, and challenging routes on the other. The differences are reflected not only in their names, but also in architectural styles, dates, trail lengths and landmarks. You can tailor your stay to your interest in architecture or hiking.
Churches and historic buildings
The present-day Église paroissiale Saint-Vincent de Ria dates from 1628. Its bell tower is in the Lombard style and probably dates from the 11th century. The building thus brings together a clearly established date for the present-day church and a much earlier, but uncertain, date for the tower. The bell tower and entrance doors were listed as historic monuments by decree on September 11, 1964.
The Église Saint-Clément de Sirach has a different architectural profile: it features defensive elements and preserves components with Romanesque characteristics. It was listed as a historic monument by decree on May 17, 1974. In contrast with Saint-Vincent, the emphasis here is on defensive features and Romanesque architecture, rather than on the different dates of the church and bell tower.
Ruins, chapels and local landmarks
The ruins of Château d’Arria overlook Ria. The surviving features include the edge of a cistern and a ceramic orientation marker. The Chapelle Saint-Sernin d’Eroles is a Romanesque ruin at an elevation of 753 metres, about 200 metres west of the Chapelle-ermitage Saint-Christophe. The two ruins also differ in how they are located: Château d’Arria overlooks Ria, while Saint-Sernin is identified by its elevation and its position west of Saint-Christophe.
Challenging hikes
The De Ria à Bell Lloc route is a challenging 8.2-kilometre out-and-back hike. It follows old rural paths through the Coronat state forest. El Pi del Rei is also challenging and is 7.8155 kilometres long. This route starts and ends at the church car park in Ria-Sirach; the Chapelle Sant Cristòfol de Llugols is included as a point of interest.
The route lengths are close, but the hikes have different focuses: De Ria à Bell Lloc is described as an out-and-back route through the forest, while El Pi del Rei is oriented around the church car park as its starting and ending point, and the chapel as a point of interest. Both hikes are challenging, so distance alone does not indicate their difficulty. Check local conditions before setting out on El Pi del Rei.
Guided activities
FILLOL MARIE-PIERRE, a mountain hiking guide based in Ria-Sirach, offers hikes, snowshoe hikes and Nordic walking in the Conflent, as well as in Cerdagne and Capcir. Alongside the routes described here, this provides a guided option with several types of activity. Her offerings also include Astro evenings, combining an easy night hike with astronomy and the discovery of regional products. If you would like to plan an evening like this, ask in advance about the available dates.
Discover more destinations: Arles-Sur-Tech, Pas De La Casa, Porté-Puymorens, Corneilla-Del-Vercol, Villeneuve-De-La-Raho, Canaveilles, Lamanère, Canet-En-Roussillon.
For the broader travel overview: Pyrénées-Orientales.
