Surroundings

Baldellou

Charming small town with little more than 100 inhabitants.

According to some historian its name means "Valley of Wolves" (Valle del lobo).

The population is documented for the first time in the year 1090.

In the surroundings there are the abandoned villages of Sant Peri, les Llenques, with the hermitage of San Isidro, Salgar and Penella, as well as the Romanesque hermitage of the Virgin of Vilavella.

It is worth visiting the Salgà Cave, the Dark Cave in the Font de la Vila, Peñaroya (important rocky promontory at the east of the town), the Congost - (notable gorge carved by the local stream), La Volteria (the mountain at the North) and the Santa Anna reservoir.

All these locations are a climbing area for passionate. The Social space of the town "el Café" (the coffe shop/bar) provides the interested people with a folder with all the detailed information of the different "routes" given by the many groups of climbers that have been passing by the town.

La Muralla China de Finestres

Located on the Aragonese side of the Sierra de Montsec mountains, the Muralla de Finestras (Finestras Wall) formation is in fact a pair of spectacular parallel limestone ridges rising to a great height. This great natural barrier with its serrated profile, today flanked by the Canelles Reservoir and popularly known as “the great wall”, served as a the site for Finestras Castle, of which the Romanesque Chapel of San Vicente is a remnant, in a setting of great natural and cultural interest.

Congosto de Gabasa

Congosto de Ciscar

Congosto de Montrebei

The Congost de Mont-rebei is a gorge formed by the river Noguera Ribagorçana as it passes through the Sierra del Montsec, which crosses from North to South.

It is located between the regions of La Ribagorza (Aragón) and Pallars Jussà (Catalonia) and you can get there from different points, although the most popular access is "La Masieta" (at the end of the post we explain how to get there) ).

A path carved into the rock allows you to travel the entire canyon to the edge of the cliff and get views like the ones you see in the photos.

Since 1999 the Congost de Mont-rebei is protected and managed by the Fundació Catalunya - La Pedrera.

Lagunas de Estaña

South of the Montsec, in the municipality of Estaña, in Benabarre, there are the three lagoons of Estaña, of great ecological interest.

The lagoons are peculiar due to their karstic modeling, which is not typical of this kind of wetlands.

The lovers of the trek can know in depth this place by several itineraries that include visits to the small nearby towns.

Congosto de Baldellou

Despoblados de Santa Ana y Canelles

Abandoned towns that were part of the history of these lands. Towns such as: Boix, Tragó, Blancafort, Finestres, Fet, l'Estall, Montfalcó..

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Montfalcó

The old town of Montfalcó, now uninhabited except for Casa Batlle (rehabilitated and converted into a hostel), is the starting point of the "Natural Path of Montfalcó to Congost de Mont-rebei", a linear route of about 8.5 km in length that runs through one of the most attractive areas of the Noguera Ribagorzana river valley, natural border between Aragon and Catalonia.

The first 600 m to the source of Montfalcó coincide with an interpreted botanical walk that provides information about the flora and fauna of the place. The Natural path continues its journey towards the Tartera ravine, recovering the layout of the traditional road that served as access to the cultivated lands of the area, lost over time and the reforestation work carried out in the area in the 60s. The road continues sinuously down through the pine forest to reach the first footbridge, anchored on the rock wall that has to overcome, offering magnificent views to the walker. The layout continues to ascend to a new rock wall of smaller size that borders without difficulty going to the foot of the second footbridge on the rock. Once crossed, the Natural Path goes towards the Congost of Siegué, where a suspension bridge spans the 35 m that separate the two edges of the Canelles reservoir.

+INFO: http://www.montsecdelestall.com