Sant Miquel del Fai is a natural heritage site in the province of Barcelona. It is known for its dramatic stone walls and waterfalls, part of an incredible geological process spanning thousands of years.

In 2017, this heritage site was still privately-owned when the Diputació de Barcelona decided to buy it. Since then, major work has been carried out to improve the accesses and to make sure that the area is safe to visit.

The Diputació plans to reopen the site to the public by the end of 2022 and is taking accessibility into account when creating the visitor experience. One of the inclusive measures planned is an accessible linear route with 14 points of interest. The Diputació commissioned AccessLab to adapt the signage to include visitors with visual impairment.

Sant Miquel del Fai is part of a spectacular visual setting and the challenge was to convey this by means of a logical, tactile description for visually impaired and blind visitors.

It is a linear route including 14 points of interest. At the starting point, there is an introductory sign. As the visitor makes their way along the route, at each point they will find an inclusive, desk-type information panel that combines image, large print, relief and braille. The panel also includes QR codes to expand the information in Catalan, Spanish and English.

To describe a photo or landscape tactilely, you need tools such as a descriptive text transcribed in the braille reading system and reliefs with different textures, thicknesses, lines, dots, etc. to make it more comprehensible. As the project progresses, a specific code and tactile representation vocabulary is being created. For example, in Sant Miquel del Fai, the waterfalls have been represented with small vertical intermittent stripes that widen to simulate their fall, and the rock is made of dots, with the shape highlighted with lines.

This route is one example of the plans to implement accessibility at the Sant Miquel del Fai site, which aims to be a place where everyone is welcome.