The Mountains of Prades

The Mountains of Prades take part of a mountain range which covers 260 square kilometres of territory and it is situated in the north of the Camp of Tarragona’s plains. It is stretching across four different Tarragonese counties: Baix Camp, Alt Camp, Conca de Barberà and Priorat. It is an excellent example of a Mediterranean mountain range, dominated by a tabular relief with high plateaus such as Els Motllats - broken by cliffs and gulleys, built on a complex geology that shows such surprising materials as the red clays and white chalks of the cliffs, or the granites and schists of some valley slopes, as well as deep caves and potholes. Several important rivers have their sources here - the Francolí, the Brugent, the Siurana and the Glorieta, nourished by a relatively high rainfall - as well as many torrents that flow down towards the Camp of Tarragona.

The natural wealth of the area is found in the great tracts of forest with extensive holm oak and white pine groves. There are also many oak woods. The most interesting is one of Pyrenean oak, unique in Catalonia, which spreads around the Tossal de Baltasana, the highest peak in these mountains at 1,201 metres. In high or shaded areas it is common to find holly and yew, both protected species, and other varieties belonging to cooler, damper climes that find their most southerly habitats here.

Various springs and streams nourish these woods, which are also home to the wild cat, the squirrel, the lesser shrew, the wild boar and the weasel, as well as many forest birds such as the goshawk, the sparrow hawk, the long-eared owl, and the tiny tit. Dominating the skies we can see the golden eagle, Bonelli's eagle, and even the peregrine falcon. Autochthonous forests, full of life, that have remained unchanged over the centuries live together with the cobblestones that paved the traditional paths used by man.