The Pyrenees in the area around Sort have some world class river sections. This is the first of our four-part blog series on guides to our favourite rivers in Spain. We’ve put together a short explanation with GoPro videos and maps to make it easier for the people coming to Spain to enjoy these gems!
The Upper Noguera is an exceptional section in Catalonia which has two hours (depending on the water levels) of continuous rapids at grade 4 and 5. The river flows alongside the road with a number of places you can get on, and the upper section ends on the reservoir of Boren.
How to get there
If you’re staying in Sort, you’ll need to take the C-13 road to get to Esterri d’Àneu. Once you get there, don’t go through the villiage, instead take the faster route along the C-28 for about 10 minutes until you see a detour to Sorpe, Boren. Follow this road to get to the take-out, where you can leave a car for the shuttle, then, follow the road upstream until it ends at the Bonabe refuge.
Water levels
In the square of Boren there is a small bridge where you can check the gauge. The perfect level is 75 on the gauge, and anything lower than 35 is too low. There’s also a different gauge that you can check online at risqhydro.smartyplanet.com – you can paddle on it at anything above 90 on the gauge, but anything lower than that is too low.
When to go
The Upper Noguera isn’t dammed so it’s likely to be running during springtime (end of April – July).
Up next
Don’t forget to check back for the next in our series of short guides … The Palomeras.
