The village, the castle and the church of Santa Maria

What it is

Siurana is a tiny village, of little more than thirty residents, built on top of a crag in the Priorat, above the Siurana river valley and the reservoir. It was the last Andalusi stronghold in what is now Catalonia: it held out when Tortosa and Miravet had already fallen, and the Christians did not take it until 1153 or 1154. What remains of that history fits into an hour's walk: the castle ruins, the Romanesque church of Santa Maria and the edge of the cliff at the Salt de la Reina Mora. All of it is protected as a historic and landscape ensemble.

What you see

• The castle. At the entrance, beside the car park area, are the remains of the fortress, an Andalusi hisn that controlled a wide territory from roughly the 9th century. Philip IV ordered it demolished in 1651, at the end of the Reapers' War, and Napoleonic troops damaged it again in 1812. Today it is loose walls on the rock, with views of the valley.
• The church of Santa Maria. Romanesque, from the 12th and 13th centuries, it is preserved intact. It already appears in a bull of Pope Anastasius IV of 1154. It has a single nave with a pointed vault and a semicircular apse. Note the north doorway: three archivolts and a tympanum with the crucifixion and the apostles, a rare subject in Catalan tympana. Beside the apse is a stone sarcophagus that tradition calls the tomb of the Moorish Queen. Inside, the Mare de Déu de l'Aigua is venerated; the original carving was stolen in 1979.
• The Salt de la Reina Mora. The edge of the crag where, according to legend, Queen Abdelazia leapt with her white horse rather than surrender to the Christians. It is said that the hoofprint remained marked in the rock. From here you look out to the reservoir, the Montsant, the Gritella and the Muntanyes de Prades.
• The streets. Cobbled, with stone houses, the odd terrace and climbing walls that begin almost at the last house.

Hours and price

The village can be visited freely and free of charge at any hour. Official sources do not publish opening hours for the inside of the church; the doorway and exterior can always be seen. If you want it explained to you, on the second Saturday of each month there is a lively guided visit at 12:00. For questions, the Cornudella tourist office answers on 977 821 000.

Getting there and where to park

You go up from Cornudella de Montsant along a narrow road with bends, of about 8.6 km. At the top are the car parks P1, P2 and P3, paid all year: €3. Motorhomes cannot go up. On spring Sundays and public holidays arrive before ten, because it fills up.

How long

An hour is enough for the castle, the church and the Salt de la Reina Mora at a relaxed pace. With a lunch in the village and one of the short routes, such as the Camí de la Trona, you have your day made.

Accessibility, children and dogs

The streets are stone, with steps and slopes: with a wheelchair it is complicated and with a pushchair, awkward; a baby carrier is better. The edge of the crag has no protection at every point: with children, hold hands beside the Salt de la Reina Mora. Dogs can walk round the village on a lead.

When to go

At sunset the stone turns red and there are fewer people. In spring and autumn the light is clean and the temperature pleasant. In summer, at midday the village has no shade: better early in the morning or in the afternoon, and leave the middle of the day for the reservoir.

Where to eat and sleep

In the village itself are the Restaurant Siurana and Els Tallers, and to stay for the night, the Hotel La Siuranella.