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Mountain Walking in Southern Catalunya
Els Ports and the mountains of Tarragona
This guidebook has 30 routes for mountain walkers of all abilities in Southern Catalunya. The routes are in 3 national parks between Barcelona and Valencia; around the River Ebre: the els Ports massif, Serra de Cardo and the Serra de Montsia, including the immense limestone crags of the Parc Natural dels Ports overlooking the Mediterranean.
Seasons
good walking from October through to May; when strong winds or the occasional dusting of snow arrive on the high ridges the sheltered coastal slopes provide good routesCentres
TortosaDifficulty
from broad tracks to airy scrambles round huge cliffs; walks graded for routefinding, scrambling and exposure; all within capabilities of experienced hill walkers – rockclimbing skills and equipment are not neededMust See
Parc Natural dels Ports, herb-covered hillsides, high pine forest, Templar castles, picturesque hill villages-
Overview
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A guidebook to 30 graded walks in Spain’s Southern Catalunya. Exploring the beautiful scenery of els Ports and the Tarragona mountains, the walks are suitable for beginner and experienced walkers alike.
Day walks range from 4 to 21km (2–13 miles) and can be enjoyed in 2–6 hours. A 2-day, circular trek encompassing Sant Roc and Arnes is also described in 2 stages covering 47km (29 miles).
- Sketch maps are included
- Detailed information on planning, accommodation and local history
- Highlights include the Cardó and Montsia massifs
- Easy access from Barcelona, Valencia and Reus
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Table of Contents
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Maps
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Updates
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Reviews
By Philip Freakley
After leaving their academic careers in 2002, Philip and Vivien Freakley moved to the Haute Ariege region of the French Pyrenees to indulge a lifelong passion for mountains and the natural world. They are, by inclination, fair weather walkers and discovered the mountains of Southern Catalunya during an escape from a particularly cold and snowy Pyrenean winter. In 2004 they bought a house there and have spent the subsequent five winters exploring, talking to local walkers, translating Catalan route descriptions, knitting together apparently unrelated scraps of footpath and encouraging everyone to build cairns.
By Vivien Freakley
After leaving their academic careers in 2002, Philip and Vivien Freakley moved to the Haute Ariege region of the French Pyrenees to indulge a lifelong passion for mountains and the natural world. They are, by inclination, fair weather walkers and discovered the mountains of Southern Catalunya during an escape from a particularly cold and snowy Pyrenean winter. In 2004 they bought a house there and have spent the subsequent five winters exploring, talking to local walkers, translating Catalan route descriptions, knitting together apparently unrelated scraps of footpath and encouraging everyone to build cairns.
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