Dear little Siurana – A tiny picturesque village perched at the top of a small cliff in Cornudella de Montsant with a stunning 360 view of the surrounding Prades mountains/ countryside, located right in the heart of Catalonia, Spain. So what is it famous for here in Spain – rock climbing!
Where and what’s the allure of Siurana?
Need a break from the bustling city energy of Barcelona and get a nature fix? Escape into the amazing vast outdoors of the Monstant region, that houses 30 over world renown rock climbing crags with 5,000 rock climbing routes of varying degrees of difficulty. This is known as one of the best rock climbing and bouldering in Spain and all of Europe.
A world-class destination for outdoor climbing in Europe.
This area attracts the best climbers from Catalunya and beyond to do some premiere sport climbing. Admire the colourful limestone cliffs surrounding the idyllic hilltop town of Siurana. After a good day of climbing, always squeeze a lovely drive up to this picturesque village with its shiny cobblestone streets, narrow winding passageways and grey stone buildings, all perched high above the rolling hills and autumn countryside below.
Some little facts about Siurana Spain:
The world-class climber – Adam Ondra was seen on TV to have completed a famous route called Golpe De Estado here in Siurana.
A Day spend in Siruana Climbing
We were honoured to join Marten and Dicha, founders and avid climbers of Climbing Siurana for a day of amazing natural outdoor rock climbing. Siurana was one of our a pitstop in our Europe Epic Road Trip from France to Portugal by car, with the great company of Cez from Etramping.
We were warmly and graciously hosted by them in their little cabin home for a warm home cook dinner, located in a beautiful 5 hectare private land, which they are currently doing a permaculture project and creating a self-sustainable home for themselves. Really inspiring stories shared over meals and their love for the environment and lifestyle choice is really admirable.
We slept soundly in the little cosy campervan just a few metres from the cabin, and it felt so nice to be one with nature and hear the wind howl in the night. There is a nearby dry toilet where you can go and take a dump and then pile it with soil after, it has been a while since I experience this 🙂
We started the next day with a simple breakfast, packed some fruit/ crackers and drinks before heading out to our first climbing spot! The morning was a bit chilly but it got really nice and toasty when we reached our first climbing spot, and we could see the golden sunlight reflecting off the walls.
We finally got to our first climbing spot and warmed up with easy routes like 4a+s. Really loved how nice the weather was with a little cool breeze even as the sun shone. Had to do little recaps of safety rules with Dicha before I lead my first route. Such a treat!
Cez from ETramping was an amazing belayer, and before long I was up on the wall with the amazing view of the surrounding mountains. It was truly breathtaking. Even in winter, there is a lot of greenery spotted, and a little river running through right at the base. Generally, all year round is great to climb, but try to avoid Jul and Aug which are the hot seasons.
If you love rock climbing in Europe, why not consider some of the other popular spots like Kalymnos in Greece or Bled Lake in Slovenia.
Its always good to know where are the best spots to start your day of climbing, to get some sunlight, or avoid the strong winds. Dicha certainly knew where to bring us to get the best views and not make us feel too daunted by the routes or chills.
Outdoor Recommendations:
Start the day nice and bright at 9 am so as to maximise the daylight. Bring along your lunch like we did and have a little picnic in between. If you want to climb until late and cut it close to sunset ( which was incredible by the way), just make sure you have your headlamps with you to walk back to the entrance.
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- Rock climbing outdoors
Keen in trying something a little different, called Via Ferrata?
How to get to Siurana Climbing Area?
Most inbound climbers/ travellers will fly in from Barcelona airport, which makes it easier to communicate if you don’t speak Spanish. Rented cars and campervans ( a popular choice) are available in the terminal. If you are travelling from another part of Europe, fly into Reus airport where you can hire a car, which saves you more time as it is cut short to an hour. If this is your first trip to Spain, spend at least 2-3 days to explore Barcelona, cycle around, see the Sagrada Familia, have some tapas/ churros and check out the shopping belt.
Little Tip: Expect to pay around 13 -15 Euros for the one hour drive from Reus (or take one of the free but much slower/ tedious free highways). We drove down from Barcelona and checked out Montserrat on the way.
Love Spain? Why not visit Costa Brava too?
Where to Stay in Siurana Catalonia?
There aren’t that many accommodation options in Siurana ever since the Refugi at Siurana village has been closed to climbers, so you are advised to book your accommodation early. You can sleep in at the campsite 5 minutes from the village, where it is also possible to rent a private bungalow with a private shower. Warning, the camping grounds do run out of hot water after a certain time, so try to shower early instead of risking a freezing cold shower in the winter period. Alternatively, rent a room at Cornudella di Montsant. The guys from Climb Siurana would be most helpful to give you more information and advise you where you can stay and be picked up to go for your day of climbing.
If Siurana is too intense a climbing spot for leisure climbing in your opinion, you can always check out the surrounding climbing spots at Margalef, Montsant and Arboli. But base on what we experienced, this area is great for beginners, intermediate to advance climbers, so everyone will find something fun and enjoyable for them.
Other things to do in Siurana and around Cornudella de Montsant : Trekking, kayaking, wine tasting
So hence concludes my post about our lovely rock climbing day trip in Siurana with Climbing Siurana and we were back to our 12 day road trip around Spain. If you would like to find out about their Siurana outdoor rock climbing courses, trips and availability, feel free to reach out to them anytime at Climbing Siurana.
Ready to climb in Siurana this summer?
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