Alt Urgell rock climbing

Alt Urgell is a region of Catalunya that is characterised by mountains, valleys and water situated in the centre of the high Pyrenees, just south of Andorra.  These mountains and valleys contain numerous high quality limestone crags, drawing climbers from around the World.

When arriving at Oliana from the south, you are confronted by limestone walls up to 600m high just above the road.  Also amongst these huge walls are some excellent sport climbing crags. The awesomely steep barrel-shaped wall of Contrafort de Rumbau is home to some of the hardest sport climbs in world.  It is full of overhanging tufas offering incredibly sustained climbing up to 50m long, with plenty of routes in the F9’s.  A few km north of Oliana is the Espluvins area where there are plenty of mid-grade routes on vertical rock at sectors such as Rams, Obaga Negra, and Socol de Espluvin.

The town of Coll de Nargó, due to its strategic position, is at the epicentre of most of the climbing in Alt Urgell.  Above the town there are 13 crags, though not individually large, but when combined provide a great variety of climbing.  There are routes across a wide range of grades on limestone and conglomerate rock, offering superb technical climbing.  Most of the routes are single-pitch with some bolted multi-pitch routes up to 100m long.  To the west of Coll de Nargó are a series of recently developed crags around the villages of Coll de Boixols and Valldarques.

Just to the north of Organyà is the world class area of Tres Ponts.  The climbing is superb, featuring long athletic pitches on excellent limestone rock, including some multi-pitch routes.  Just south of Tres Points is Fontanella, a powerful sector located in a beautiful corner.  Both Tres Points and Fontanella offer a good range of routes from F6's to F8’s with late spring to mid-autumn being the best time to visit.  Just outside of Organyà there are also a couple of crags.

On the Opposite side of the river to Organyà are the villages of Figols and Perles.  Around Figols there are 20 different sectors that face a variety of orientations, making it possible to climb here throughout the year.  However these limestone crags are steep, with the majority of the routes ranging from mid F6’s to F8’s.

Situated above the village of Perles are a series of grey limestone crags, offering technical and fingery vertical routes with small crimps.  The climbing here offers some of the best mid-grade climbing in the region including some multi-pitch routes.  With many of the crags facing south, it is a perfect mid-winter destination.

Just behind the ridge of Perles lies the incredible valley of Canelles, displaying vast quantities of beautiful limestone rock. The quality of the limestone is said to be the best in the region, and most crags face south to southeast, making this another excellent mid-winter destination. There are 7 different crags along the valley, with the character of the routes being steep and overhanging meaning that the majority of the routes range from mid F6’s to F9’s.

The Alt Urgell rock climbing guidebook covers 18 crags in this northern Catalunya region and is the most extensive sport climbing guidebook available.  Most of the routes covered are single pitch in the grade range of F6’s through to F9’s. In total it details around 1,800 routes, with all the routes shown on colour photo topos. Buy the Alt Urgell rock climbing guidebook from our shop.

The Lleida Climbs select guidebook covers a much larger region and includes some of the best routes at Oliana, Coll de Nargó, Perles, Canelles, Figols and Tres Ponts. Buy the Lleida Climbs guidebook from our shop.