From Les Frares Encantats, the torrent del Lloro descends southwards to join the torrent de les Grutes, opposite the Arcada cova. The canal follows the torrent bed to cascade down the valley. The route is easy and fairly short, except for the final 30m abseil. Nice wild setting, typical Montserrat barranc. It can be combined with the descent of the Clot dels Caragols torrent, located a little further west (in which case, you'd better start there). The area is also rich in sport climbing, with excellent exposure for winter climbing: la desdentegada, el Vermell del Xincarró, la cova de l'Arcada.
Technical summary
Location ✦ Bruc
Region ✦ Montserrat, Catalunya
Country ✦ Spain
Type ✦ Dry canyon
Vertical rise ✦ 180m
Difficulty ✦ v3-a1-II
Duration ✦ 3h30 to 5h
Max abseiling ✦ 30m
Access to the place
From Barcelona, take the A2 towards Leida and exit at Le Bruc (exit 572). Go through the village and turn right towards Mas Grau, then continue to the Plana llarga parking lot.
Map & topo
Itinerary description
Hiking to the start 1h
Take the path of the same name to the cova de l'Arcada. Pass the cave and climb up to cross the torrent de les Grutes. Further up, fork left towards Coll de Porc. The path runs alongside the torrent. The first abseiling facility (1 ring) can be found a little further up.
Course 1h30 à 2h
The canyon equipped in 2006 is south-facing. Bring a 70m rope. No major difficulties. The descent of the torrent is steep and the passages narrow. It's a series of a dozen or so fairly short abseils (5 to 10m) interspersed with wooded sections that allow you to thread your way between rocks, or even under embedded boulders forming natural holes.
The first 4 abseils are done with equipment, but the following ones can be done by de-escalating (facilities provided just in case).
The end of the route takes us to the edge of a large waterfall overlooking the return path and dominating the valley.
The final aerial abseil is 30m long, and we land in a sort of hollow from which we have to extract ourselves by climbing back up to find a path bordering the cliff where numerous climbing routes are equipped (Desdentegada sector).
Back
Descend via small, steep paths to the cova de l'Arcada path, which you can follow in the opposite direction back to the parking lot.
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