Canoe Trip through the Duratón Canyon

Paddling down the Duratón is seeing the canyon from below. The river has carved meanders in the limestone and the walls reach about a hundred metres, with griffon vultures on the ledges. The stretch you paddle is calm, reservoir water, so no experience is needed, but you must be able to swim. Inside the Natural Park you always go in a group and with an instructor: it is a protected area.

The guided trip, step by step

It is run by Situral, an adventure tourism company in Sebúlcor (registration TA 40-04). The day goes like this:

1. Meeting. You meet at one of its two points: Canoas Duratón, on calle Arias de Miranda, 36, in San Miguel de Bernuy, with office, changing rooms, toilets and showers, about 15 km from the put-in; or the Sebúlcor warehouse, on camino de los Lavaderos, next to the football pitch, about 5 km away. They ask you to be punctual so as not to delay the group.
2. To the jetty. You follow the instructor's car in yours to the water.
3. Equipment and rules. They give you a paddle, a life jacket and a dry bag for your things, and an explanation of how to handle the canoe and the park rules.
4. On the water. You go in double canoes, with backrests and footrests, very stable. The instructor accompanies the group the whole time and stops to explain the landscape, the wildlife and the history of the canyon. There is a stop of about twenty minutes to have something to eat.
5. Return. The paddling is about three hours and 8 or 9 km; with the return to Sebúlcor, allow nearly four hours in all.

There are morning and afternoon departures.

Prices

• Guided trip: €33 per adult and €20 per child up to age 14.
• Independent trip from San Miguel de Bernuy, with no time limit and departure at any time: €25 and €15.
• Both: €50 and €30, with no need to do them on the same day.

Booking by phone, on 686 367 854, gets a 10% discount on the standard rate. You can pay in cash, by bank transfer or by card, but at Sebúlcor only in cash, because the signal is poor. If the weather prevents departure, it is moved to another day.

Getting to Sebúlcor

From Madrid on the A-1, exit 100 (Cerezo de Abajo), towards Cantalejo on the SG-205; at 25 km the turning to Sebúlcor, 2 km away. From the A-6, via Segovia and Cantalejo, and from there 3.5 km towards Sepúlveda.

Before or after the water

The path to the hermitage of San Frutos shows you the same canyon from above, in an hour on foot. For lunch, the Asador El Panadero, in Sepúlveda, roasts lamb to order.