July to March: If you are on the GR 92 between July and March, you can shorten stage 4 with a beautiful beach hike of about 4 km: At the south-western end of Empuriabrava, the river "La Muga" flows into the sea, but in summer it often has so little water that you can cross the river mouth directly on the beach with dry feet.

April to June: Between 01 April and 30 June, however, the beach section belonging to the Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà is closed due to the bird breeding season (see also Flyer). This means that a diversion is necessary in spring (approx. 5 km additional distance). To do this, first walk on the outskirts of Empuriabrava to the bridge, which is about 2 km inland at the sewage treatment plant. From there, you walk through the visitor centre of the nature park in an arc back towards the beach.

Both variants meet again at the beginning of the Almata campsite (www.almata.comHowever, immediately after the campsite, the GR 92 turns right again into the hinterland. If you are walking along the beach, you should not be misled by the first GR 92 sign in front of the campsite: We only turn right after the campsite! From here we head into the hinterland and walk past orchards and agricultural fields.

We pass through the village of Sant Pere Pescador and continue on to L'Armentera, where we can recommend the restaurant Ca La Gemma for a hearty Catalan lunch.www.calagemma.com/en/home).

From L'Armentera, the GR92 goes through the flat hinterland and only turns back towards the coast at the village of "Cinc Claus". Here we meet the medieval "Sant Martí d'Empúries", and shortly afterwards we walk past Greco-Roman ruins. The path runs along the promenade above the beach to L'Escala, our destination today. Overnight accommodation is available both near the beach and a little further into town..

The fifth stage of our Costa Brava hike is relatively strenuous - not only is there a longer distance to cover, but also quite a bit of altitude gain. One climb in particular towards the end of the day is quite demanding.

In L'Escala, the path leads us first along the "Passeig de Mar" along the seafront promenade through the town until we reach the harbour. Then we climb slightly uphill and walk through the "Parc Natural del Montgrí". From now on, the GR-92 becomes an unpaved coastal path again, which we continue to follow with slight ups and downs. We pass the beautiful bay of Cala Montgó. Shortly afterwards, the viewpoint "Punta del Milà" is a good place for a picnic. At this point, the path turns inland and then runs parallel to the sea on an elongated plain for a few kilometres.

In the distance, even further inland, the Montgrí massif is already visible - we still have to cross it today. The way there drags a little, the ascent is strenuous, but the effort is worth it: the appearance of the castle "Castell del Montgrí" with its thick walls and towers is worthy of a film. The descent to Torroella de Montgrí, today's destination of our stage, also takes a long time. But the medieval village offers interesting overnight accommodation:  either in a historic palace or at the Hiking Hotel GR92.

Hint: On the ascent from the bay "Cala Montgó" to the "Punta del Milà", the path partly leads quite close to the steep coast. A section of about 10 metres is sometimes perceived as unpleasant by hikers with a fear of heights (see comment by Jörg). So it's definitely doable, but a short stretch may require some courage or avoiding the potentially tricky area (see the screenshot).