GETTING UP THE MOUNTAIN
Cremallera or Cable Car — Getting Up Montserrat, Explained
Two very different rides climb from the valley to Montserrat's monastery — a historic rack railway and a single-span cable car, plus two funiculars beyond.
See Montserrat day trips on GetYourGuide ↗Two very different ways up
From the valley station near Monistrol, two separate systems climb roughly the same vertical distance to reach the monastery plateau by very different routes: the cremallera, a rack-and-pinion railway that winds up the mountainside along a fixed track, and the Aeri, a cable car that crosses the same distance in one uninterrupted span through open air. Most day tours use one system or the other, and occasionally both — up on one, down on the other, on tours built that way — with the specific listing stating which is included in your particular booking.
The cremallera — a rebuilt rack railway
A rack railway first climbed this route back in 1892, but it closed in 1957 after years of poor financial results and a serious accident, and the original tracks were eventually removed entirely. What runs today is a modern line built along a similar route and reopened in 2003, using rack-and-pinion technology to manage the mountain's steep gradient safely. The ride itself is gradual by comparison with the cable car, with the terraced mountainside and rock face sliding past the windows rather than dropping away sharply beneath the carriage as you climb.
The Aeri — a single-span cable car
The Aeri de Montserrat cable car opened in 1930 and, remarkably, still runs on much of its original mechanism and structure today, having survived damage sustained during the Spanish Civil War in the following decade. It crosses from the valley station to the monastery in one continuous span with no intermediate towers along the way, which makes for a shorter, more dramatic ride than the cremallera, with a clear and immediate sense of altitude as the cabin rises steeply above the valley floor below, the rock face sliding past close to the windows.
Cremallera vs Aeri cable car
| Cremallera (rack railway) | Aeri (cable car) | |
|---|---|---|
| Opened | 1892, rebuilt and reopened 2003 | 1930, still on original structure |
| Feel of the ride | Gradual climb, wide views along the track | Short, steep single-span crossing |
| Good for | Travellers who'd rather avoid a cable car | Travellers who want the more dramatic ascent |
| Station location | Monistrol-Vila / valley station | Aeri station beside the Llobregat valley road |
Beyond the monastery — two funiculars
From the monastery plateau itself, two further funiculars run in different directions, and neither is a substitute for the cremallera or the Aeri — think of them as an extension of the day for anyone continuing further on foot. The Sant Joan funicular climbs higher up the massif to trailheads used for hikes toward Sant Jeroni and other routes along the ridge. The Santa Cova funicular runs the other way instead, descending partway toward the Santa Cova chapel, the site linked to the legend of the Black Madonna's original discovery on the mountain.
Choosing between them
Neither the cremallera nor the Aeri is objectively the better choice — it really comes down to personal preference and how you like to travel. Anyone uneasy about cable cars will likely prefer the rack railway's more gradual, grounded climb up the mountainside; anyone chasing the more thrilling ascent will naturally lean toward the Aeri instead. If a particular tour offers a choice, or the option to go up one way and come down the other, that's often the most satisfying combination on offer, since it means experiencing both rather than settling for only one direction.
More things to do nearby
Not sure which Montserrat option, or cable car vs rack railway?
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