El Cogul and Barcelona Bouldering

The best bouldering near Barcelona is at the sandstone boulder fields of El Cogul and L'Albages, situated to the south of Lleida.  Two other excellent bouldering areas are at Savassona and St Joan that are located to the north of Barcelona.

El Cogul is the largest bouldering area around Barcelona, with over 500 problems, and is one of the best in the whole of Spain.  The sandstone boulders are scattered amongst fields of olives and almonds in undulating rural farmland.  The landings are generally good and flat with problems across a wide range of grades.  It is a good family destination as most of the sectors have easy approaches and good terrain for the kids.

The bouldering is located along a 4km ridge between the villages of El Cogul and L’Albages that is accessed via a dirt track with parking areas for each of the 9 sectors.  The bouldering is on excellent fine grained sandstone rock that provides plenty of vertical walls, slabs, slopers, huecos, roofs, cracks and overhangs that require good technique and footwork.  Many of the problems often have difficult top outs on slopers requiring a mantle shelf finish, much like Fontainebleau.

Just to the north of L'Albages is another area with almost 300 more problems offering bouldering that is very similar to that found at El Cogul. 

What bouldering guidebooks are available for El Cogul and L'Albages?  The Boulder A Ponent Lleida Guidebook covers over 500 problems at El Cogul and almost 300 problems at L'Albages.  It also covers another 17 smaller bouldering areas around Lleida.  Buy this guidebook from our shop.

When is the best time to boulder at El Cogul and L'Albages?  The winter months from late October to February offer the best conditions for bouldering at El Cogul and L'Albages when the friction is at its best.  The summer months are just too hot.

Savassona is a sandstone bouldering area in the northeast of Catalunya about 1.5 hours’ drive from Barcelona, near the town of Vic. The sandstone boulders are located in a tranquil forest and sit alongside ancient ruins. There are hundreds of quality boulder problems ranging from Font 3+ to Font 8b. The problems are varied, with good holds that are generally not too high, and with good flat landings.

There are many cheap flights to Barcelona from all over Europe, with the main airport just south of Barcelona that is known locally as El Prat. Alternatively, Reus airport is further south and provides easy access to the bouldering areas particularly for El Cogul.