Montserrat Basilica is the reason the mountain is more than a dramatic rock formation. Pilgrims and day-trippers come here for La Moreneta, the Black Madonna of Montserrat, and for the charged setting of a monastery pressed high into serrated cliffs.
Give it time, even if you are mainly here to hike. The basilica can be crowded, but its mixture of music, devotion, Catalan identity, and mountain air is what makes Montserrat one of Spain's most memorable sacred places.