General Description: The imposing cliffs dominating the hillside above the village of Coll de Nargó have long been popular with local climbers, but remain relatively unknown in the wider arena. A series of impressive rocky crests running east to west present a southern aspect whose vertical walls offer superb technical climbing on a curious mix of limestone and conglomerate, with grades running from IV to 8b. The zone offers an excellent selection of single pitch climbs, as well as a number of fine 2, 3, and 4 pitch bolted routes. Clear and calm mid-winter days give the best climbing conditions at Coll de Nargó, although late autumn and early spring may also be very pleasant. The summer months are generally very hot, but evening ascents of the multi-pitch routes on sector Paret del Grau (orientation south/southeast), which is shaded from late afternoon onwards, are quite common. It is worth remembering that the walls here are very quick to dry following rain and suffer very little from seepage.
🧗♂️Sector de Baix
Description: This sector forms the lowest part of the main ridge. The left-hand side of the crag offers a section of difficult climbs on a mixture of conglomerate and limestone, while around the corner the rock is pure limestone and less steep. Orientation: Southeast for routes 1-11, Northeast for routes 12-28.
🚶♂️: From the centre of Coll de Nargó take the L-511 towards Isona, but before leaving the village turn right (directly opposite the Romanic church of Sant Climent) and continue uphill, passing a football pitch on the left. On reaching the last few houses turn right onto a narrow surfaced track, following signs for Coll Piqué (there is actually a symbol depicting a climber on one of these). Approximately 350m along the surfaced track, just after a sharp left-hand bend, there is a large building (water deposit) on the right. Park just to the left of the building, next to a large metal signpost (P1). Walk 100m back down the road to the apex of the bend from where a well-marked footpath begins. Follow this rightwards for approximately 200m to reach the left-hand side of the sector (5 minutes).
🧗♂️Sector del Dipòsit, Sector dels Isards & Bel Canto
Description: These three closely situated sectors offer good face climbing in a range of grades. They form the next (higher) section of the main ridge moving leftwards from Sector de Baix. Orientation: Southeast.
🚶♂️Approach: From the centre of Coll de Nargó take the L-511 towards Isona, but before leaving the village turn right (directly opposite the Romanic church of Sant Climent) and continue uphill, passing a football pitch on the left. On reaching the last few houses turn right onto a narrow surfaced track, following signs for Coll Piqué (there is actually a symbol depicting a climber on one of these). Approximately 350m along the surfaced track, just after a sharp left-hand bend, there is a large building (water deposit) on the right. Park just to the left of the building, next to a large metal signpost (P1). On foot, scramble up the steep embankment directly above the parking area to the start of a narrow but well-marked trail heading diagonally rightwards up the hillside (cairn at the start) and follow this to the base of the Sector del Dipòsit (5 minutes). Sector dels Isards lies 70m down and to the right (6 minutes from P1). Sector Bel Canto lies approximately 70m up and to the left of Sector del Dipòsit (7 minutes from P1).
🧗♂️Sector Coll Piqué
Description: A very nice sector and probably the best in Coll de Nargó for 6th grade climbing. Orientation: South.
🚶♂️Approach: From the centre of Coll de Nargó take the L-511 towards Isona, but before leaving the village turn right (directly opposite the Romanic church of Sant Climent) and continue uphill, passing a football pitch on the left. On reaching the last few houses turn right onto a narrow surfaced track, following signs for Coll Piqué (there is actually a symbol depicting a climber on one of these). Approximately 350m along the surfaced track, just after a sharp left-hand bend, there is a water deposit building on the right (P1 lies just to the left of the building). Continue driving up the narrow track, which becomes unsurfaced, to reach ‘Coll Piqué’, a spacious parking area (P2) situated beneath a large freestanding pinnacle known as the Gegant Gran. On foot, walk back down the track for approximately 70m then scramble up to the extreme left-hand side of the sector. A path runs rightwards below the wall to reach the right-hand side of the crag (3 minutes from P2).
🧗♂️Samarkanda/Sector del Mig
Description: These two sectors (it is actually just one crag) lie immediately to the right of sector Coll Piqué. Samarkanda has some of the best, hard face-climbs in the zone, but really there is something for all levels here. Orientation: South.
🚶♂️Approach: From the centre of Coll de Nargó take the L-511 towards Isona, but before leaving the village turn right (directly opposite the Romanic church of Sant Climent) and continue uphill, passing a football pitch on the left. On reaching the last few houses turn right onto a narrow surfaced track, following signs for Coll Piqué (there is actually a symbol depicting a climber on one of these). Approximately 350m along the surfaced track, just after a sharp left-hand bend, there is a water deposit building on the right (P1 lies just to the left of the building). Continue driving up the narrow track, which becomes unsurfaced, to reach ‘Coll Piqué’, a spacious parking area (P2) situated beneath a large freestanding pinnacle known as the Gegant Gran. On foot, walk back down the track for approximately 250m (passing below sector Coll Piqué) then go left and follow trails diagonally rightwards up the hillside, heading for the impressively smooth wall, which marks the left-hand side of Samarkanda (10 minutes from P2). Note: just before the reaching the col there are several small lay-bys on the track in which it is possible to park one or two vehicles. This will reduce the approach time by a couple of minutes.
🧗♂️Els Gegants
Description: Els Gegants (‘The Giants’) are the three freestanding pinnacles directly above the parking area (P2). They mostly offer moderate climbing on their southern faces, but the north side of Gegant Gran offers a selection of much harder routes, which are almost permanently shaded. Orientation: South (except for the north side of Gegant Gran).
🚶♂️Approach: From the centre of Coll de Nargó take the L-511 towards Isona, but before leaving the village turn right (directly opposite the Romanic church of Sant Climent) and continue uphill, passing a football pitch on the left. On reaching the last few houses turn right onto a narrow surfaced track, following signs for Coll Piqué (there is actually a symbol depicting a climber on one of these). Approximately 350m along the surfaced track, just after a sharp left-hand bend, there is a water deposit building on the right (P1 lies just to the left of the building). Continue driving up the narrow track, which becomes unsurfaced, to reach ‘Coll Piqué’, a spacious parking area (P2). The pinnacles lie right next to the parking area (1 minute).
🧗♂️Els Castellassos
Description: A brilliant sector situated in the valley behind the main ridge of Coll de Nargó. There are some nice 6th grade routes here but to get the most out of the sector it is necessary to climb a bit harder. Orientation: Southeast.
🚶♂️Approach: From the centre of Coll de Nargó take the L-511 towards Isona, but before leaving the village turn right (directly opposite the Romanic church of Sant Climent) and continue uphill, passing a football pitch on the left. On reaching the last few houses turn right onto a narrow surfaced track, following signs for Coll Piqué (there is actually a symbol depicting a climber on one of these). Approximately 350m along the surfaced track, just after a sharp left-hand bend, there is a water deposit building on the right (P1 lies just to the left of the building). Continue driving up the narrow track, which becomes unsurfaced, to reach ‘Coll Piqué’, a spacious parking area (P2). From P2 follow the right-hand track (on foot) as it descends into the valley. After approximately 700m there is a junction: take the left-hand option and continue for a further 800m before the track fades out in hillside olive groves. Cross these and follow a vague trail up to the base of the sector (20 minutes from P2).
🧗♂️Paret del Grau
Description: This is an extensive sector and features some of the highest walls and longest routes in the zone. Its left and right-hand sides offer multi-pitch climbing from two to four pitches, while in the centre there is an area of much steeper rock and some very attractive tufas, giving superb single pitch climbing. There are several projects on the central section of the sector and, when eventually climbed, they will, no doubt be in the 8c/9a range. Orientation: South.
🚶♂️Approach: From the centre of Coll de Nargó take the L-511 towards Isona, but before leaving the village turn right (directly opposite the Romanic church of Sant Climent) and continue uphill, passing a football pitch on the left. On reaching the last few houses turn right onto a narrow surfaced track, following signs for Coll Piqué (there is actually a symbol depicting a climber on one of these). Approximately 350m along the surfaced track, just after a sharp left-hand bend, there is a water deposit building on the right (P1 lies just to the left of the building). Continue driving up the narrow track, which becomes unsurfaced, to reach ‘Coll Piqué’, a spacious parking area (P2). From here, walk along the track directly behind (north of) the pinnacles for approximately 150m to where it fades out then continue on a well-marked footpath heading steeply up the hillside to the cliffs. The right-hand part of the sector is reached in around 10 minutes, while the left-hand side requires a further 5 minutes walking. Note: there are several ‘traditional climbs’ on the wall (between routes 33 and 34), which have not been displayed in our topos.
🧗♂️Sector Tranquil & Uriundu
Description: These two sectors form the left-hand side of the main ridge at Coll de Nargó. There are many fine routes here and even though the walk-in is quite long (unless you have access to a 4x4 vehicle) it’s well worth the effort. Orientation: Southeast for Uriundo, South for Sector Tranquil.
🚶♂️Approach: From the centre of Coll de Nargó take the L-511 towards Isona, but before leaving the village turn right (directly opposite the Romanic church of Sant Climent) and continue uphill, passing a football pitch on the left. On reaching the last few houses turn right onto a narrow surfaced track, following signs for Coll Piqué (there is actually a symbol depicting a climber on one of these). Approximately 350m along the surfaced track, just after a sharp left-hand bend, there is a water deposit building on the right (P1 lies just to the left of the building). Continue driving up the narrow track, which becomes unsurfaced, to reach ‘Coll Piqué’, a spacious parking area (P2). From P2 walk around to the front (south) faces of the Gegants pinnacles then follow a track running past green-roofed farm buildings. The track soon fades out in a field but a reasonably well-marked footpath continues westwards. Follow this, passing below Paret del Grau to eventually reach a notch at a break in the cliffs. Sector Tranquil lies to the right, while the small buttress of Uriundu is reached by following a small path running down and left - 15 minutes to the notch, with a further 10 minutes required for the right-hand of
Sector Tranquil. Note: for those with 4x4 vehicles (actually it’s just about possible in a ‘normal’ car if it has good clearance and conditions are dry, but we don’t recommend it for hire-vehicles!) continue driving along the track from P2 running to the north of Paret del Grau for approximately 1.4km, to a grassy parking area on the left (P3) just before a col. From here follow a well-marked footpath uphill, heading in a southerly direction. After approximately 150m of ascent the path then descends to the notch between the sectors (5 minutes from P3).
