Car park by the reservoir dam

The Siurana reservoir is the green-watered lake at the foot of the village cliff, between the Montsant range and the Muntanyes de Prades. To swim, paddle or walk to the pools on the river, the place to leave your car is the car park by the dam, on the Cornudella de Montsant side. It is different from the village's P1, P2 and P3 car parks, which are up above, on the cliff.

Getting there

According to Turisme Siurana, from Cornudella de Montsant you drive through the village to a turning on the right signposted "Pantà de Siurana" and follow it for about 2 km to the dam. The car park is next to it. On foot, from the Cornudella information point, the path crosses the village, passes the Pont de l'Íntim and turns right towards the reservoir.

Neither Turisme Siurana nor the town council publishes the number of spaces, the opening hours or whether you pay, so on hot days and summer weekends, arriving early is the surest way to find a space.

What it is useful for

The Toll del Forn. This is the easiest pool in the chain on the Siurana river and the best one with children. From the car park, walk right across the dam, take the path on the left up to the chain that marks the start and keep going alongside the reservoir: in about half an hour and with almost no climbing you reach the first pool. The path is not waymarked; the reference is to follow the river upstream. We describe it in the entry for the Toll de la Palla, which covers the pools together.

Kayak and canoe. On the reservoir, Canoa Kayak Siurana hires out kayaks and canoes by the hour, from €16 an hour per person, with a swimming area, changing rooms and toilets. It does not take bookings for hire: you turn up and paddle. Details are in the entry for kayaking on the reservoir.

Walking. The old path from Cornudella to Siurana skirts the reservoir and drops down to the water in its first stretch, so the dam car park also works as a halfway point if someone in the group prefers to wait below.

Tips

Turisme Siurana does not publish swimming rules for the reservoir; swim with care and bring river shoes, as there are stones in the pools. On the routes to the pools, mobile coverage is patchy. If you are spending the day, combine them: go up in the morning to the village and castle, when it is cooler, and come down to the reservoir at midday for a swim or a kayak. If you are travelling by motorhome, remember that they cannot go up to Siurana; see the entry on motorhomes.