Gualba is small town of 1200 residents sits at the foot of Montseny in Catalonia, Spain. And it has a rather unique claim to fame – it’s famous for its sundials! Gualba is home to a whopping 17 sundials! Josep Maria Llora even offers a sundial tour in which you can see 10 of the sundials. I’m convinced it’s a world record for the most sundials per capita, but I couldn’t find any stats to support this (if you know where I can find this let me know).
The sundials were built by local resident James Salichs a painter, sculptor who later ventured into sundial building. Salichs passed away a few years ago but has left a legacy for years to come bringing back the ancient wonder of telling time that dates back to 3500 BC. One of my favorites was the water sundial pictured above. It’s a block of large stone with a concave middle. The hours are indicated by steel buttons and the time indicated by the water stream. It’s the most innovative sundial I’ve ever seen – although I’m certainly not a sundial expert, but dare say I am a sundial enthusiast after the tour.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Sundial Tour. I hadn’t really given sundials much thought before my visit to Gualba but I love tours like this that are off-beat and make me think about something in a new way. I had no idea that sundials varied so much in design and had fun trying to spot them as I strolled through Gualba.
Know Before You Visit the Sundials in Gualba
- Gualba is located approximately halfway between Barcelona and Girona, making it a great day trip. Alternatively spend the night in one of the fully equipped apartments offered by Rural Montseny.
- Sundial tours are offered by friendly local Josp Maria Llora. He speaks excellent English and is very knowledgeable about sundials and James Salichs. You can contact him at: info (@) ruralmontseny.com for more information.
- You may also be interested in visiting Parc de les Olors, an aromatic park and Castell de Montsoriu, Catalonia’s greatest gothic castle.Note: I was a guest of Rural Montseny but as always all opinons are expressed are my own – they had no idea that I would become so fascinated with sundials and neither did I until my visit to Gualba.
