Penyagalera

In late February 2024, we climbed the Penyagalera, a 1034-meter mountain peak in the heart of the National Park los Puertos de Beceite.

It is a semi-circular route of about 17.6 kilometers that officially begins in the village of Beceite. From the town, you start walking toward “La Pesquera,” a natural bathing area around the Ulldemó River with a vast array of beautiful pools, (“Pozos” in Spanish, Tolls in Catalan, for swimming. The pools vary in size and are some of the most stunning natural pools in the area. The natural area can be reached on foot, but the forest pass along the river is also equipped with 15 spots for parking connected to the river to get to all the different pools. The distance between the first and the last pool is about 8 kilometers.

The hike up to the Penyagalera begins at “Toll de Pablet”, situated near the 3rd parking spot. We decided to get dropped off there right away to avoid the paved road from Beceite, and thus be able to walk on unpaved trails immediately. This made the hike a total of about 10 kilometers. If you’re coming by car, park your car at the 3rd parking spot to start this hike, or if it is crowded, park in the town of Beceite itself. If you start in town, the first 3-5 kilometers of the route are paved and cars can pass you.

Please note that from mid-June to mid-September, the parking spots are paid and you need to make reservations to get access (see link below). The rest of the year there is free access.

Once we arrive at our starting point (Toll de Pablet), we descend to the river and cross the river to begin our ascent. There are clear yellow signs to indicate the route and at the starting point and there is also an extensive information sign about the route (the PR-TE-151). The route climbs directly and constantly uphill to the top of Penyagalera, which we reach after about 4.5 kilometers of ascent. From here you have a beautiful panoramic view of the entire nature reserve the Puertos de Beceite. Along the way, you can see all kinds of cliffs and all kinds of birds of prey circling above us in the valley between the mountains. Just before the summit, we pass the ruins of an old farmhouse, the “Caseta de la Muela” located in a narrow pass at 989 meters altitude.

From the summit, we descend on the other side of the massif via the “Coll de Pelele”. The rest of the descent goes through a forested area until we cross the river Ulldemó again to get back on the paved road (approximately at parking spot No. 10). The walk continues along the paved path that winds alongside the river with its beautiful pools until it reaches the starting point at “Toll de Pablet”

Since we skipped the first part of the route, we ended up with a hike of about 10-12 km.