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Home Experiences Walking routes Saverneda Dragon Siarb

ROUTE FROM SORT EL DRAGÓN DE SAVERNEDA,
TORNAFORT AND THE SIARB VALLEY

We leave Sort, the capital of Pallars Sobirà, towards the crossroads at the Saverneda farmhouse. We go up the picturesque Soriguera ravine to the rustic village of Puiforniu, from where we reach the panoramic village of Tornafort. A pleasant descent - first through pastures and later through boxwoods and red pine and, finally, through an oak grove - takes us back to Saverneda. We finish the route near the river Noguera Pallaresa in the direction of Sort.
 
Walking to the village of Tornafort, a natural vantage point with privileged views in all directions, is an extraordinary treat for the senses. But, beyond Tornafort, this route also allows us to discover and enjoy the lower part of the beautiful Siarb valley. On the way up, we go up the shady ravine of Soriguera, listening to the murmur of the water and enjoying the splendid riverside woods of the river Cantó. Afterwards, we walk down through subalpine forests while listening to the song of the woodpecker. At the bottom of the valley, on the way to Sort, we can entertain ourselves looking for blackbirds in the wild waters of the Noguera Pallaresa. With so many distractions and attractions, you'll never want to get to Sort!
 
THE BEST OF THE ROUTE
- Getting to know Tornafort, a unique village in the Pyrenees.
- Going up the shady and magical ravine of Soriguera.
- The good views of the Montsent de Pallars going down from Tornafort.
- The possibility of hearing and seeing the black woodpecker. 
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ROUTE DESCRIPTION

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Difficulty: Remarkable
Departure/arrival: Sort - Hotel Les Brases
Total time: 4:30h
Minimum altitude: 672m
Maximum altitude: 1,289m
Accumulated slope: 700m
Total distance: 18.5km
Nearest town: Sort
Accumulated slope: 700m

MORE INFORMATION

- Duration: Full day.
 
- Total effective time (without stops): 4:30h in total: 2:30h from the starting point to Tornafort and 2:00h to descend from this village to Sort via the Saverneda farmhouse.
 
- Total difference in altitude: 700m
 
- Difficulty: Remarkable. The route does not present any technical difficulties.
 
- Season: All year round.
 
- Equipment: Nothing special.
 
- Cartography: High Pyrenees Natural Park. 1: 50.000. Editorial Alpina.
 
- Observations: If we do this route in winter we must be well equipped for the cold: the shady areas are usually frozen almost all day long, especially in the section of the Soriguera ravine. In this regard, pay special attention to the wood of the bridges you cross, as they may be slippery. It is important to pay attention to orientation, as there are frequent changes of path. For the more daring, there is the possibility of extending the excursion by climbing up to the Tossal de Puial, a panoramic summit of 1,914m that offers even more extensive views of the whole territory. If we want to make this ascent, we have to add 3 hours to the timetable described. The way up to the Tossal starts from the village of Tornafort.
 
- How to get there by car:
The starting point of the excursion is at the Hotel Restaurant Las Brases de Sort. We arrive in Sort on the C-13 road. The Hotel Les Brases is located on the C-13 road, just at the north exit of the town. In front of the hotel there is a free parking space.

STEP 1

We start the route at the Hotel Les Brases (0:00 - 692m). We walk along the C-13 road, crossing the town of Sort in the direction of Tremp (S). We cross the Noguera Pallaresa river over the N-260 road bridge.
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STEP 2

Bridge over the Noguera Pallaresa.
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STEP 3

At the eastern end of the bridge we see a red sign for the Sort Nature Trail and the Àssua Valley where it says "Tornafort / Llagunes". During the first part of the route we will follow these vertical signs in the direction of Tornafort, paying close attention to the various crossroads that we will come across.
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STEP 4

We pass a gas station and immediately the paved road gives way to an unpaved track. The road runs through an extensive alluvial plain known as Les Vernedes; Formerly there was a large riverside forest here where the alder predominated, "vern" in Catalan.
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STEP 5

Currently we find several poplar plantations, from which the wood is used for the production of paper. It is common to see trucks that come to load this wood, which tells us that the primary sector still has an important weight in the economy of Pallars Sobirá. We leave behind the detour to Borda de Ritort and continue along the main path, reaching a second fork. Here we must be careful: although the vertical sign seems to indicate that we must turn to the left, we must continue straight, following the profile of the mountain.
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STEP 6

If we look closely and walk quietly, maybe we can see a squirrel!
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STEP 7

We discard the path on the left.
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STEP 8

From here we have unbeatable views.
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STEP 9

A little further on, now yes, we leave the main track taking a detour to the left and following the vertical sign. The path becomes a path and makes a loop to go up a short slope of about 15m. We leave the track and go up the path to the left.
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STEP 10

We continue along the path, in the middle of oaks, boxwoods and hawthorns. We walk protected by a wooden railing and with views of the Les Vernedes plain.
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STEP 11

After about 10 minutes, we reach a crossroads (0:40 - 685m). We pass a wooden bridge to the right that crosses the river and continue uphill. At first the path is poorly defined, but soon we find yellow paint marks that help us to follow it.
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STEP 12

We now begin a beautiful section through the Soriguera ravine, the natural entrance to the Siarb valley, the valley of the Cantó river.
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STEP 13

Beautiful stretch of trail through the shady ravine of Soriguera.
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STEP 14

Always following the yellow marks, we advance following the watercourse. We only move away from it for a small section that takes us through some old pastures and along the old Orient hut, currently half hidden among the vegetation. We recover the banks of the Cantó River and soon cross it over a wooden bridge.
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STEP 15

We crossed to the other bank of the Cantó River.
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STEP 16

We arrive at a meadow where we must pay close attention: we leave behind a well-defined path that climbs in the direction of Llavaners. Although the terrain is not well marked, we have to go to the left, until the end of the meadow, without going too far from the river. A white line to close the cattle gives way to the path that we must follow (SO).
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STEP 17

We arrive at a meadow where we must turn left, along an undefined path.
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STEP 18

We continue going up the Cantó river valley along the path that climbs the orographic left bank of the Cantó river.
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STEP 19

We find another wooden bridge that takes us to the other side of the river.
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STEP 20

We begin to ascend making loops and we enter a beautiful oak forest. The terraced terrain and dry stone margins indicate that this land was formerly cultivated and that there was an old bridle path that climbed towards Soriguera and Llagunes.
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STEP 21

Section of road between oaks.
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STEP 22

After this section, the path descends again to the riverbed, where we find the fork towards Puiforniu (1:30 - 980m). We turn right (S) and cross the river, now over a cement bridge.
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STEP 23

At this point we must be very careful, it is easy to go wrong. We leave the path that goes up in a straight line and continue along the most marked path, which immediately turns to the right and fades when we reach a double white line that marks the access to a meadow. We follow the path to the right.
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STEP 24

We have no choice but to go over or under the fence, paying attention if it is electrified. During some times of the year, it is possible that the yarn is not there, which will make it easier for us to pass.
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STEP 25

We cross the meadow and see that the path goes up to the right. We follow it for about 60 meters and soon we see some yellow paint marks indicating a sudden turn to the left. We take this detour, which makes a shortcut avoiding the long loops of the path.
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STEP 26

From the path you can see the Roca de Baén and the town of Soriguera.
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STEP 27

The path climbs steeply, but after 10 minutes we reach the entrance to Puiforniu, a small village that has managed to preserve its mountain character. To the left we have the small hermitage of Santa Cecília. We pass under a curious walkway with railings that connects a house with the Cal Vaquer shelter and we come out onto the road.
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STEP 28

We arrive at Puiforniu and pass under a walkway with railings.
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STEP 29

We follow the walkway for a few meters to the right and, before reaching a fountain, we leave the road (yellow painted signs) and go up a ramp to a curious tunnel that leaves us at the highest point of the town.
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STEP 30

After the ramp the path enters a very curious tunnel.
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STEP 31

We follow the path delighting our eyes with these incredible views.
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STEP 32

We go towards the Llau de Toscarri enjoying magnificent views of Tornafort, on top of a hill.
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STEP 33

We go over the stream and the path begins to climb drawing loops.
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STEP 34

We follow the yellow signs at all times and arrive at Tornafort (2:30 - 1,281m).
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STEP 35

Entrance to Tornafort.
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STEP 36

We can distract ourselves visiting this beautiful and well-preserved town. We recommend taking, to the left, the Camino Viejo de Taús (well indicated on the information panel of the Alto Pirineo Natural Park). If we do so, after 10 minutes we will arrive at some meadows from where we can enjoy the most spectacular views of this entire route: Tornafort hill and a spectacular line of high mountain peaks such as Tuc de la Cometa, Montsent de Pallars, Montorroio, Pala Pedregosa de Llessuí, Mainera, Cresta de l'Avía, Muntanyó, Bony de las Picardes,...
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STEP 37

Views of Tornafort from the Camino Viejo de Taús.
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STEP 38

We return to the entrance of Tornafort and direct our steps towards a vertical sign next to the containers of the municipal garbage service. The sign indicates the way to Malmercat and Sort. These green vertical signs, the red vertical signs of the Sort Nature Trail and the Àssua Valley (which we have already followed at the beginning of the route) and the yellow painted signs will indicate the itinerary to follow until the end of the walk. We pass through a tunnel under the LV-5131 road and begin the descent through a very pleasant section, enjoying extensive grass meadows and the imposing silhouette of Tuc de la Cometa in the background.
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STEP 39

We pass through a tunnel under the LV-5131 road.
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STEP 40

We descend between grass meadows. In the background, the Tuc de la Cometa.
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STEP 41

Soon we came out onto the road, just at the height of a fairly sharp curve.
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STEP 42

The trail leaves us at a bend in the LV-5131 road.
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STEP 43

Next, we approach a section where the path shortens the funnels of the road and crosses it several times. We also walked the same road for some stretch.
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STEP 44

We enter a red pine forest with boxwood undergrowth, known as the Obaga de Malmercat, where it is possible to hear the black woodpecker as it pecks at the trunks of the oldest trees. The path brings us back to the road.
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STEP 45

We pass by Cal Portaler, a house next to the road. Just after this house, the trail leaves the road and climbs to the right.
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STEP 46

Views of the town of Enviny and the peaks of Montsent de Pallars and Montorroio.
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STEP 47

After crossing the road several times, we definitively abandoned it and decidedly began the descent. Finally we arrive at the Camino Viejo de Malmercat (3:30 - 725m).
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STEP 48

Yellow paint mark on a pine tree across the road.
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STEP 49

We are following the yellow paint marks.
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STEP 50

We arrive at the intersection of the Camino Viejo de Malmercat.
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STEP 51

We take it to the right in the direction of Sort and soon we see the old Saverneda farmhouse below us, famous for having the best and most productive meadows in all of Pallars Sobirá.
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STEP 52

Beautiful views of the plains of Les Vernedes.
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STEP 53

In the same farmhouse is the entrance to the Agujero del Dragon, also known as Saverneda cave, an underground cavity that is highly recommended to visit. We continue along the path, we cross the river Cantó by a wooden bridge and soon we reach the crossroads (3:50 - 685m) where, on the way out, we have taken the path of the Soriguera ravine. Instead of returning to Sort along the same path, we now take the path to our left, passing between the River Cantó and a metal fence.
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STEP 54

Crossroads, we continue to the left.
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STEP 55

We advance between the Cantó River and a metal fence.
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STEP 56

We soon reach a leisure area with an information panel. We are at the confluence of the Cantó River with the Noguera Pallaresa River, the backbone of the entire Pallars Sobirá. We turn to the right, following the popular Camí de Les Vernedes.

Nice section next to the Noguera Pallaresa. We can observe aquatic dippers.
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STEP 57

Accompanied at all times by the Noguera Pallaresa -where we can easily see the dipper- we leave the track and continue along a path that climbs a few meters and is protected by wooden railings.

We continue advancing leaving the track to the right.
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STEP 58

We continue on to the Hotel Les Brases (4:30 - 692m), the end point of our excursion.
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STEP 59

We arrived at Sort.
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STEP 60

Arriving at the bridge, we turn left, until we reach the C-13, the main road.
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STEP 61

We continue straight on for a few more meters until we reach the Hotel Les Brases.
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STEP 62

We have already reached our destination.
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