Catalonian: Line of fire

The sun is hot, the air is fresh, the meadows glow with buttercups. Above the 1,000-year-old church, beech woods climb to rugged peaks. Somewhere cowbells clunk. Just 60km from Girona's busy airport, this is the sylvan paradise that the Catalans cannily keep for themselves.

Ten thousand years ago, La Garrotxa (pronounced La Gar-rot-cha), which lies between the Costa Brava and the Pyrenees, was one of the planet's top volcanic hotspots, its convulsions creating strange but lovely landscapes. From the mountain-hemmed lake at the town of Banyoles, the meandering GI-524 road leads into the region's once fiery heart. Here there is the thrill of real discovery: picturesque villages such as flower-filled Mieres, where Catalan flags fly on medieval towers; sunflower fields between wooded hills.

As those hills steepen, the ancient land of fire bristles with volcanic peaks. The suburbs of Olot, the region's compact capital, stretch up the slopes of the Volcà del Montsacopa. Olot itself lies astride the river Fluvià, surrounded by forests. Most of La Garrotxa is deciduous woodland. The vast D'en Jordà beech wood stretches almost to Olot, cloaking the jumbled cones and calderas, and is laced with well-marked trails. Hikers from Barcelona come here to try to escape from the coastal heat.

We are hunting volcanoes. Under the trees, sunbeams weave patterns on the black basalt track. Birds trill and warble; woodpeckers drum. We pass glades of wild flowers, and sometimes the path climbs steeply. The trees are so dense that they hide the gaping crater of the 700m Volcà Santa Margarida until we reach the rim. Deep in the caldera, 200m down, mist wreathes a 12th-century chapel. Later we pass clearings dappled with cows, and orchards and farms bordering streams. There are kaleidoscopic butterflies, iridescent beetles and crickets.

The village of Santa Pau calls itself a medieval labyrinth; neither word is an exaggeration. Through the fortified gate, its thousand-year history still seems to be running at least half a century behind the present day. The village's vocation remains the cultivation of Santa Pau fesols, the small dried beans prized throughout La Garrotxa. At the quaint Michelin-rated Cal Sastre hotel, fesols come with everything.

In August the alleys of Santa Pau throng with people celebrating the annual fiesta. People dance sardanas – the passionate but formal dance of Catalonia – to celebrate their homeland. Not much else seems to happen: the village has a baker, a grocer, two butchers, a chemist and a small bookshop. Grannies and cats drowse in the shade.

It was not always so tranquil. In the last days of the Civil War, Santa Pau was bombarded. Sepia snapshots in the Can Pauet café show ragtag defenders armed with shotguns, scythes and pitchforks defiantly assembled in their Sunday best. Other photos testify the terrible destruction that Franco's guns inflicted in revenge.

Outside Santa Pau is the bizarre Museum of Lava: basalt sculpted by nature into Dalí-esque shapes. Other medieval villages nearby also mix medieval and volcanic charms: San Joan de Font has lava formations near its ancient monastery; Castelfollit de la Roca perches on high basalt cliffs; and San Feliu de Pallerols has geothermal fountains.

The region's only tourist honeypot is Besalú, one of Spain's oldest and loveliest cities. Coaches pack the car parks every day from 10am. Seen from its long and slender bridge – an 11th-century wonder with portcullis in the middle – Besalú's golden-walled reflection in the Fluvià river looks like something from a dream.

Many buildings are into their second millennium but the city has resisted becoming a museum. Old-fashioned stores, cool and cluttered, outnumber souvenir shops; market-day stalls bustle with locals buying fish and fruit. And when the tourist coaches leave, Besalú's many ages seem to merge in the dusk. Only the floodlights on the bridge convincingly divide the present from the past.

But for us, La Garroxta begins and ends in Olot. Set between four sleeping volcanoes – not extinct, they say, but dormant – this self-sufficient small city has big-city panache.

The school of fine art occupies an exquisite Carmelite cloister but most of the city's medieval buildings were razed in an earthquake in 1427. The heart of the rebuilt city is an ordered grid of narrow streets; an enviable model of 15th-century town planning.

In the 19th century, local millionaires girdled the city's historic heart with leafy boulevards and squares spiced with Art Nouveau mansions. As Art Nouveau swept Catalonia, Olot rivalled in flamboyance anything Gaudi dreamt up for Barcelona. From 500 metres up on the Volcà Montsacopa we peer down at the riverside gardens and esplanades that embrace the huddled rooftops of the tiny Plaza Mayor.

The homely ambience is agreeably mirrored in its prices and cuisine. At the chock-full Can Guix restaurant we misguidedly order the special salad as starter. Volcano-high platters arrive, including omelette, chorizo, ham, calamares, asparagus and olives. We are still battling with these when they dish up our roast lamb. The only wine choice is red, rosé or white but it is included in our €19 (£16) bill for two.

Elsewhere, the cheerful Hostal Sant Bernat serves gargantuan La Garroxta breakfasts: sautéed Santa Pau beans heaped with crisp-grilled belly pork. On the wall is a small Miró-like drawing that appears to be signed. "Joan Miró?" I ask the waitress. "Sí, sí," she confirms. I enquire where it came from – had the Catalan surrealist ever tucked into their breakfast? She is preoccupied serving. "Lo siento. No sabe. Maybe the manager knows." An answer from the manager is not forthcoming, so I never do find out. But then as fine art goes, how could even Miró's pictures compete with a breakfast of Santa Pau beans?

The easiest access to the region is from Barcelona or Girona. Regular buses run from Girona and there is a daily service from Barcelona. Hotel Cal Sastre (0034 972 680 049; www.calsastre.com) Casa Noves 1, Santa Pau. Doubles from €113 (£94).

Hostal Sant Bernat (00 34 972 261 919; www.hostalsantbernat.com/en) Cra. de les Feixes, Olot. Doubles from €65 (£54)

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