Catalonia's wild side: by train and kayak through Pallars Jussà
A Guardian travel feature describes a trip through Pallars Jussà in north-eastern Spain's Catalonia, using the historic Lakes Train, bikes and kayaks to reach canyons, reservoirs and ruins.
Pallars Jussà, a western corner of Catalonia in north-eastern Spain, offers canyons, lakes and abandoned buildings for visitors willing to leave the main roads. The Guardian's travel section has published a first-person account by an author who first visited the area on a honeymoon road trip 21 years ago and has now returned with her husband to explore its hinterland more deeply.
On the historic train
The trip centred on the Tren dels Llacs, or Lakes Train, which runs on a single track from the city of Lleida north to the mountain town of La Pobla de Segur. The 89km (55-mile) route passes through 40 tunnels and over 75 bridges. The couple chose the Tren Historic, a 1960s locomotive in its original livery with a period dining car and mail carriage; a more modern Tren Panoramic is also available.
The Santa Linya halt is a lone platform on a mountainside. From there a steep trail climbs 190 metres over about three and a half miles to the village of Santa Linya, and a further four miles leads to the Mirador del Balconet viewpoint, overlooking the Collegats Gorge and the Noguera Pallaresa River 300 metres below.
Bikes, a reservoir and local food
The region has a large network of old trails suited to mountain biking, linking castles, chapels and farmhouses. The author notes that autumn temperatures in the foothills stay pleasant into November. After getting off the train at Tremp, the couple hired bikes and rode to Hotel Terradets near the village of Cellers, beside the Terradets reservoir, which was created in 1935 when the Noguera Pallaresa was dammed. The ruins of the Sant Miquel de Cellers monastery lie beneath its waters.
Local dishes mentioned include escudella pallaresa, a meat stew, Pyrenean river trout, cod cooked with Montsec honey and crema catalana for dessert.
Mont-Rebei Canyon
In the next valley west, the Noguera Ribagorçana River runs through the Mont-Rebei Canyon, with 500-metre vertical cliffs and a channel narrowing to 20 metres. The river marks the border between Catalonia and Aragon. No roads, railways or power lines cross the gorge. The couple kayaked a round trip of three to four hours from Corçà. High on the cliffs runs a metre-wide path cut a century ago to link remote communities.
The author adds that Pallars Jussà has no motorways, and that its Catalan identity is visible in separatist flags and graffiti.
