America is not that far away from Barcelona as you might think… A couple of months ago we went to visit Coves de Can Riera, a pretty hidden spot near Barcelona which reminds us to the mythic Antelope Canyon in Arizona.
If you are thinking about hiking near Barcelona, include this spot in your hiking Barcelona list. And what is the best thing of this hike we propose today? It is a nice one day trip from Barcelona!
Coves de Can Riera: Antelope Canyon in Barcelona
We find the first official reference to this caves in 1897, in a work from N. Font i Sagué. They appeared referenced in various sources since then, but it is not until 2018 that they were rediscovered by cavers.
The perfect one day trip from Barcelona
This is one of those perfect one day trips from Barcelona, since you don’t need to drive to get there: you can also arrive by public transport. Here we share some details on how to arrive to the starting point of this Barcelona hike (Camp Municipal Can Roig, in Torrelles de Llobregat).
- By car: B-10 i A2.
- By train: Rodalies Renfe & Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya.
First train (Rodalies renfe): From Plaça Espanya to Sant Vicenç dels Horts (S8 Martorell Enllaç). Second train (FGC): From FGC Sant Vicenç dels Horts to Rotonda Cesalpina (Major-Bosc de les Ànimes).
It is a nice Barcelona hike and it takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to the top of the caves (from the parking lot), walking quietly enough to enjoy the views and taking pictures. To go down it will take less time, about 45 minutes.
Difficulty level: medium-high
Even though most of the trail path is easy to walk in, the conditions change in the final section. You will need to climb to get up to the caves, and that’s why we evaluate the difficulty level as medium-high. Hiking near Barcelona can get a bit adventurous too! (Double check the route before leaving home).
Actually, while we were half of the way up, we talked about why do the reviews we checked claimed that the hike was pretty difficult. We understood immediately at the end of the hike, when we saw the rock wall we were supposed to climb to get to the final views. Even though it is a nice one day trip from Barcelona, get ready to climb as well as to end up with dirty clothes…
Ideal dress code: hiking outfit
Definitely not your favorite t-shirt and shoes, since your clothes probably are going to end up in a garnetish color, due to the sand that covers the ground of this natural scenario. If you have specific hiking clothes and boots, that will be the perfect outfit for this occasion.
Prickly pears in Coves de Can Riera (keep an eye out!)
In the final section of the trail, prickly pears are one of the main characters in that beautiful scenario. While climbing, keep an eye on what kind of rock/branch you lean on, cause there might be a prickly pear nearby! And sure you don’t want to have its thorns on your fingers as a souvenir…
The most important thing: respect nature
Coves de Can Riera is a beautiful hike near Barcelona, which teleports ourselves to a pretty different environment from the one we have in the city. Actually, due to its special beauty and closeness to Barcelona, they have been featured lately on social networks and diverse online media. One of the sad consequences of its popularity these past months has been the damage caused by disrespectful visitors. For that reason, we highly encourage you to visit this beautiful spot with the greatest respect for nature.
And we could keep talking about this nice one day trip from Barcelona to discover this little known place, this little Antelope Canyon in Barcelona. But since (sometimes) a picture is worth a thousand words, we are going to leave it here.
