El Port de la Selva is a municipality of the region of the Alt Emporda. The town located within the Cap de Creus peninsula, which is source of inspiration for writers, painters, and other artists. The town has a great variety of landscapes. The winding mountainous area of the Sierra de Rodes and the Cap de Creus massif, the pride of the Rubiés, Sant Baldiri and Santa Creu valleys, the charm of the steep coves of the Mar d’Amunt and the imposing bay where it rests the town. This great variety of forms allows people to enjoy nature with intensity and tranquility at the same time.

The cultural legacy of the town, with a first-rate historical heritage that has its greatest exponent in the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, without detracting from the remains ranging from the Neolithic to traditional architecture. of dry stone. This environment-heritage combination provides a unique and unrepeatable corners. The Port de la Selva is an ideal place to live, to spend the weekend or all your holidays.

The municipality includes the population of the Vall de Santa Creu. The town of Port de la Selva is in the north of the Cap de Creus peninsula, in the northern sector of the Costa Brava. The Port de la Selva combines the blavor of the Mediterranean, the greenery of the vineyards and, rising by the sea, the mountains of the Sierra de Rodes —which in this sector takes the name of mountain or Sierra de Verdera—, with peaks of outstanding heights such as Sant Salvador Saverdera (670 m) and Puig de Queralbs (621 m).

The Sierra de Rodes, the westernmost buttress of the Pyrenees at the foot of which the town sits, was formed by the folds of the primary era. It consists of both metamorphic and filonian and plutonic rocks. The morphology has resulted in steep coasts as a result of the erosive action of the sea and wind, with abundant river valleys flooded by the sea, which form an articulated coast with numerous picturesque coves, high heads and steep promontories, as well as ‘islands rising above a platform of little abrasion.

History
The first historical references to the place occupied by the Port de la Selva are from the year 974. In a donation by Gausfred I of Empúries-Rosselló made that year to the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, the portus quod dicunt Armi-rodas is mentioned. Until the early eighteenth century, however, there are no references to the existence of a nucleus of houses on this site. In 1725 the construction of the first church began. From the beginning, they were fishermen’s houses that lived in La Selva de Mar and other surrounding villages. In these houses they kept fish and fishing tackle. This small town grew until it became independent of the Selva de Mar in 1787, when Charles III granted it the status of royal town.

Along with fishing, in the mid-nineteenth century the trade in oil and wine became important, until numerous pests, especially phylloxera, attacked crops during the second half of that century. This caused a major upheaval in the people’s economy. As a result, many families were forced to emigrate. After that disaster, only the valleys and low mountain areas were reclaimed for cultivation, although from the 1960s this activity was declining; and fishing and tourism became the main resources of the village.

From the 1960s until now, tourist exploitation has become the most important economic activity in Port de la Selva. The origins of the town’s tourist attraction go back to the 1920s, when it was discovered by a group of intellectuals. The beauty of the bay turned those first tourists into fervent propagators of the Port de la Selva. Among those first tourists and propagators of the charms of the Port de la Selva, Josep Maria de Sagarra stands out, who found inspiration in some of his works with a marine atmosphere, such as La balada de Luard, El mariner or Cançons de rem and of sailing. With the increase in tourism, urbanizations have multiplied, giving a new look to the town and its surroundings. However, the Port de la Selva still retains the appearance of a fishing village.

Tourism
The Port de la Selva offers the possibility of quiet walks by the sea, through the port, the Nautical Club and the path, in the direction of Llançà, or along the path of the coves, to the Tamariua. The cultural heritage corresponds to all the historical periods, from the prehistory to the present time, with vestiges of all the times; but the monuments of the medieval period stand out, both in terms of quality and quantity.

Within the town we can visit the church of Santa Maria de les Neus. It houses a Gothic image of the Virgin Mary that comes from the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes. In the Santa Creu Valley, the church of Sant Fruitós and the streets that lead to the fountain or to the path that goes up to the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, which, majestically, presides over the surroundings from the top of the mountain, should be highlighted.

The megalithism is embodied in fifteen elements, of which the dolmens of Les Mores Altes stand out, next to the road that goes up from Port de la Selva to the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, and the paradolmen of La Pallera, right next to the link of the mentioned road with the road from Vilajuïga to Sant Pere de Rodes. The cultural heritage of the municipality has as a precious jewel the monumental complex of Sant Pere de Rodes, declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest by the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya in 1997. This complex is formed by the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, the castle of Verdera (or Sant Salvador de Verdera) and the old village of Santa Creu de Rodes, centered on the church of Santa Helena de Rodes.

Apart from this exceptional complex, there are also other monuments of medieval origin in the municipality, such as the church of Sant Baldiri de Tavellera, located in the Cap de Creus massif, along the GR11 long-distance path. 5 kilometers from the center of the Port. Scattered throughout the territory there are also remnants of popular architecture that, standing among the bushy vegetation that covers old cultivated areas, show a strongly humanized landscape, with numerous dry stone walls. Other elements are visited furnace bricks of Canavall, next to the mill Canavall -a former mill hand- and Corral de Almeda.

Beaches
This small corner of Cap de Creus has some of the best beaches on the Catalan coast. They can be found from fine sandy beaches to beaches formed by stones rounded by the erosive action of the sea and the wind, but they all have in common the crystal clear water that characterizes the coast of Cap de Creus, perfect to practice any maritime activity. For years, the Generalitat has included, in the program of surveillance and information on the state of the beaches, four beaches in the municipality in a prominent category: the beach of Port de la Vall, the beach of Tamariua, the Port of the Forest and the one of the Step.

Events and festivals

Asparagus Fair
Annual fair held in the spring and dedicated to forest asparagus.

Tramuntan Art
Contemporary Art Exhibition dedicated to the Tramuntana.

Sports activities
The Port de la Selva offers the possibility of practicing a good number of sports activities both in summer and in winter.

On the one hand, the many alternatives offered by the sea:
The bay of Port de la Selva meets the right conditions for water skiing, swimming or rowing, with a sea usually calm in summer. You can learn to practice sailing, swimming, kayaking, etc.
It is also an ideal place for windsurfing, especially when the north wind blows, which offers the advantage that always leads to the coast.
You can also enjoy boat rides, which allow you to discover the places hidden by Cap de Creus, either by renting a boat or by using the cruises that take us to the different coves.
In addition to the itineraries around the village, the Port de la Selva has ideal terrain for mountain biking (more than 30 km of signposted forest trails) and road cycling.
Another possibility is paragliding, which is practiced from the area of Sant Salvador Saverdera, where there are several exit areas around the castle. The beach of Ribera del Port de la Selva is used as a landing area.