Rock climbing and bouldering around Barcelona and Catalunya

The Catalunya area of Spain, and in particular the area to the north of Lleida, is recognised as one of the finest sport climbing venues in Europe. There is a huge variety of climbing and bouldering to be found in this area, with everything from steep limestone gorges, tall pinnacles of rock to sport climbing in a mountainous environment and sandstone boulders. The map below shows some of the more famous and extensive rock climbing, sport climbing and bouldering areas around Barcelona and Catalunya.

Rock climbing around Lleida – The area to the north of Lleida has the highest concentration of rock climbing areas in Catalunya, and such is recognised as one of the finest sport climbing venues in Europe. This area includes the crag at Terradets, which is a stunning limestone gorge and is dominated by the 500m high La Paret de les Bagasses buttress. However the Paret de les Bruixes is the test piece crag, with its overhanging bowl of limestone rock providing many tufas and juggy roofs, producing many quality routes at F7 and above. Other multi-pitch crags include Vilanova de Meia, which offers good quality sport climbing up to 200m high on limestone rock. Immediately north of Lleida are a number of limestone crags offering single pitch sport routes such as Camarasa, Santa Linya and Tartareu. All of these areas are detailed in the guidebook called "Lleida Climbs" that is available to buy from our shop.

Rock climbing at Montserrat - Situated 35Km north west of Barcelona is the monastery village of Montserrat, which is surrounded by towers and pinnacles of conglomerate mountain rock. There are hundreds of routes here offering both sport climbing and trad rock climbing, many of which are multi-pitch routes. Find out more…

Rock climbing in the Spanish Pyrenees - Within the foothills of the Pyrenees there is a wide variety of different rock climbing areas and styles. These include the mountain granite of Cavallers with its impressive walls and slabs. The limestone gorge at Rodellar is well known for providing many steep routes at F6b and above, with both single pitch and multi-pitch sport routes. Here there are 100’s of quality routes that find their way out of the overhanging caves, arches, roofs, tufas and pinnacles. The huge red-coloured conglomerate pillars at Riglos also offer many routes up to 300m long with both sport climbing and Trad climbing available. Montrebei (the Congost de Mont-rebei) offers adventurous Trad multi-pitch climbing on huge limestone walls in a spectacular gorge. Many of these Trad routes are between 150 and 400m long with some up to 550m long. Further east are the famous areas of Montgrony, Alt Urgell, and Sadernes that offer limestone sport climbing, which is mainly single pitch.

The main bouldering areas in Catalunya are situated between Barcelona and Lleida, including the sandstone boulder field of El Cogul, which is one of the largest bouldering areas in Spain. All of these areas offer some excellent bouldering that can be climbed virtually throughout the year, except during the summer. Find out more…

Rock climbing in the Sierra de Prades Mountains (Costa Daurada) - Approximately 100Km south west of Barcelona is the coastal town of Tarragona.  Inland from here are the Sierra de Prades Mountains, where there are 11 crags with nearly 9,000 sport routes. The main crag is Siurana that boasts around 2,000 routes across a wide range of grades.  Other significant crags are Margalef, Montsant, La Mussara, and Mont-ral.  Throughout the area there are a good range of grades on good quality limestone and conglomerate rock. The climbing is primarily single and 2-pitch routes often at altitudes around 1,000m.   All of these crags are detailed in the guidebook called “Tarragona Climbs” that is available to buy from our shop.

The Els ports Natural Park is a wild mountain range in southern Catalunya, located to the south of Tarragona. The rock climbing at Els Ports is about big wall Trad routes on conglomerate rock, with the routes being between 120m and 300m long. The climbing is close to the villages of Horta de Sant Joan, Arnes and Penaroja de Tastavinss, and is covered in the “Els Ports rock climbing guidebook” that is available to buy from our shop.

To the west of Barcelona are a series of limestone crags that surround the towns of Castelloeffels, Vilanova Y La Geltru, Vilafranca Del Penedes, Martorell, and Igualada. The crags are mostly single pitch and are found both along the coast and inland, plus there are a small number of multi-pitch crags with routes ranging from 100m to 500m long. Some of the larger crags are Turo de Cal Beco, Gelida, Pla de Manlleu, Pic Del Martell, El Castellot, and Alto Mediona. A comprehensive guidebook called “Barcelona Y Alrededores Vol 1” covers 47 crags in this area and over 2,400 routes between F3 and F8a+. 

To the north of Barcelona are another series of crags that surround the towns of Mataro, Calders, Centelles, Tagamanent, Vic. Some of the larger crags are Xaregall del Foió, Roques de Maçana, l'Estoviada, la Moretona, Montbrú, Puig Sobirà, les Credes, la Soleia, Les Agudes, and Montgat. The vast majority of the routes are single pitch sport routes, with the exception of Les Agudes that has trad multi-pitch sport routes up to 200m long. A comprehensive guidebook called “Barcelona Y Alrededores Vol 2” describes 57 crags in this area and 1000’s of routes.