The Singularity of “The Montseny Valley”: Why It Is so Unique in the whole Spain

In a nutshell:

In this article we will learn that the Montseny Valley is one of Spain’s most extraordinary rural ecosystems: a place where wild nature meets an unexpected density of artists, creators, and community innovators. We’ll uncover how this once-agricultural valley became a living laboratory of culture, wellbeing, and slow living, a unique model that is quietly redefining what rural life can be.

Time to read: 10 min.

Let me briefly introduce you to our place…

Just 50 kilometers from both Barcelona and Girona, the Montseny Valley emerges as an unexpected microcosm, a place where wild nature coexists with an extraordinarily creative human ecosystem. Nestled on the southern slope of the Montseny massif, between Sant Esteve and Santa Maria de Palautordera, this valley has become one of the most vibrant and unique rural enclaves in Spain.

But its story didn’t begin with tourism, digital nomads, or rural chic trends. Its origin is deeper, more surprising, and far more improbable.

A privileged landscape of mountains, forests, and water

The Montseny Valley forms part of the Montseny Natural Park and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (declared in the late 1970s), an ecological mosaic where contrasts flourish: high-altitude beech forests, rivers born on peaks such as Turó de l’Home (1,708 m), lakes like Santa Fe, and endless trails that transform with each season.

Its accessibility, direct train connections to Barcelona and Girona, an immediate exit onto the AP-7 highway, and the sea just twenty minutes away, makes this enclave a strategic location. It offers deep nature without isolation; wild landscapes just steps away from major cities.

Yet, the valley’s singularity cannot be explained by landscape alone. Its true miracle is human.

When art chose the mountains

In the 1970s, as Spain began to breathe freely after the dictatorship, a group of artistic companies, among them La Claca, and later Circ Cric by Tortell Poltrona, Escarlata Circus, and Los Galindos, chose to settle in Sant Esteve de Palautordera. What seemed like an eccentric decision would spark a profound transformation.

The arrival of actors, musicians, circus performers, creators, and artists of all kinds turned an agricultural valley into an open-air cultural laboratory. And what is most remarkable: the coexistence with local residents unfolded naturally, harmoniously, almost organically. There was no rejection or gentrification. Instead, a new shared identity emerged, rural, creative, and deeply community-oriented.

Since then, the valley has continued to attract curious, free-spirited people from the arts. Today, more than 16 nationalities live here, forming a density of creative talent usually found only in large cities.

A cultural ecosystem unlike any other

From that initial cultural wave emerged another unexpected phenomenon: the valley became fertile ground for new forms of communal living. Shared farmhouses, collective homes, and cooperative projects multiplied long before the word “coliving” existed in trend magazines.

Here, community living is not a fashion, it's a culture. This spirit is reflected in initiatives such as:

Farmhouses shared by various professionals, where collaboration is central to daily life; Self-managed cultural spaces, such as the Les Escoles Velles artist residency, which hosts creators for two months of artistic development and public sharing; A deeply active social factory, where weekends are filled with concerts, workshops, exhibitions, markets, and cultural events.

As Helena Masnou, a key member of the local Cultural Council, explains, “We are the jewel of the region: a very alive village where newcomers feel welcomed and find their balance.”

The influence of holistic culture

In the 1990s, another defining element arrived: the creation of the Vipassana Meditation Center Dhamma Neru, one of only two such centers in Spain. Its presence attracted meditators, seekers, and individuals connected to the world of wellbeing, adding a spiritual dimension that seamlessly merged with the valley’s artistic sensibility.

Today musicians, therapists, artists, software developers, dancers, writers, designers, and meditators coexist here. The result is a uniquely hybrid creative–spiritual ecosystem: a place where the arts and conscious living enrich one another

Kalart Community: a living experiment in creative coexistence

The natural evolution of this movement materialized in 2019 with Kalart Community, the first rural coliving space in Catalonia. More than a place to live, it is a social experiment—a space that sits somewhere between coliving, artist residency, and intentional community.

Unlike other colivings designed for urban remote workers, Kalart focuses on professionals in the cultural and creative industries, with long stays, six months up to more than a year, that allow genuine relationships to flourish.

Life here is organized through working groups (cleaning, garden, kitchen, programming), biweekly communal meals, and a clear commitment: participate actively in the life of the house and in the life of the valley.

Its impact has been significant. Many residents have collaborated with local businesses, started their own projects in the area, or strengthened the network of dispersed creative talent seeking cohesion. As cofounder Roger Riera explains:

“The valley is a unique ecosystem, born from the creative wave that arrived here in the 1970s. Now we’re half locals and half newcomers, and the concentration of cultural professionals is exceptional.”

Kalart has become a bridge between the world and the valley, attracting creative nomads from Europe, the Americas, and Asia seeking a more authentic, human, and grounded way of life.

An irrepeatable valley

The Montseny Valley is not just nature, nor merely culture. It is the improbable mixture of both. It is a territory where rural life has reinvented itself without losing its essence; where creativity has taken root without displacing anyone; where people live slowly yet intensely.

There is no other place like it in Spain.A valley where tradition and innovation coexist.A valley where community remains the driving force.A valley that breathes art, nature, coexistence, and future.

The Montseny Valley: a proof that another model of rural living is not only possible, is already happening.