Siurana: a village on the cliff and a green reservoir at its feet.

Siurana has little more than thirty residents and an enormous history: it was the last Andalusi stronghold in what is now Catalonia and did not fall until 1153 or 1154. The village sits on top of a cliff in the Priorat, with a reservoir of green water at its feet. This Sunday you see it from three heights: from above, in the village; halfway up the wall, along a ledge cut into the rock; and from below, paddling on the reservoir. From Tarragona, less than an hour.

The Day, Hour by Hour

9:00 · Departure. From Tarragona, via Reus to Cornudella de Montsant and the road that climbs to Siurana, about 55 minutes. From Lleida, an hour and twenty-five. Arrive early: car parks P1, P2 and P3, at €3 all year, fill up on spring Sundays. Inside the village you go on foot.

10:00 · The village and the castle. At the entrance, on the rock, the remains of the castle, an Andalusi hisn that controlled the territory from the 9th century; Philip IV ordered it demolished in 1651 and the French damaged it again in 1812. Continue along the cobbled streets to the Romanesque church of Santa Maria and the cliff edge of the Salt de la Reina Mora, where the legend has the queen leaping on horseback into the void. An hour, free of charge.

11:00 · The Camí de la Trona. An old bridle path cut into the wall of the cliff, below the village, which the villagers used to go down to their gardens. Turisme Siurana includes it in the circular route Records de Princeses i Guerrers: you set off next to the castle ruins, follow the ledge, descend towards the reservoir and return along the medieval cobbled path that climbed from Cornudella. It is 5 km and about 200 metres of ascent, two and a half hours without stops. The difficulty is medium, because of the exposure of the ledge rather than the effort: if you have vertigo, stay in the village.

14:00 · Lunch at Restaurant Siurana. On Carrer Major, inside the village, a few steps from Santa Maria. Catalan cooking with local produce, at midday only; closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and no dinners. Book on its website or on 977 82 10 27 before you go up.

16:15 · Kayaking on the reservoir. Drive down towards Cornudella to the shore of the reservoir. Canoa Kayak Siurana rents single and double kayaks and canoes by the hour, without a guide: they give you the boat and the life jacket and you paddle on your own, with the walls of the cliff dropping onto the water and the church high above. An hour costs €16 per person, and small children pay half. In 2026 it opens at Easter, on weekends in spring and autumn and daily from 20 June to 13 September.

17:30 · Return. In Tarragona around half past six; in Lleida, at a quarter to seven.

What to Order

Restaurant Siurana cooks with produce from the area and the menu changes with the season; ask about the dishes of the day when you book. You are in the Priorat, between two designations, DOQ Priorat and DO Montsant: order a garnacha wine from here. If you prefer something quicker, the bar at Càmping Siurana, at the entrance to the village, serves breakfasts and mountain dishes every day from 9:00 to 20:30.

If the Ledge Is Not for You

Swap the Trona for the 4x4 route among vines with Montsant Natura, which leaves from Cornudella: between an hour and a half and two hours on tracks in the north of the Priorat, with a guide who drives and explains the soil and the terraces, and a cheese and wine tasting at a garnacha estate at the end. It costs €90 for a group of two, €110 for four and €130 for six. Book on its website.

With Children and Dogs

The village and the kayak work with children: there are canoes for two adults with one or two small children. The Trona ledge is not for small children or anyone with vertigo; with over-tens used to walking, yes, holding hands on the exposed stretches. With a dog you can do the village and the paths, on a lead; ask at the rental place whether it can go in the canoe.