Location:

The Somosierra Canyon, also known as «La Chorrera de los Litueros,» is the only canyon in the Community of Madrid where canyoning is permitted. It is located about 90 kilometers from Madrid, one kilometer north of the town of Somosierra.

Description:

The canyon descent begins with a series of slides, followed by a 2-meter drop equipped with a knotted rope and a small 3-meter rappel.

Next, there is a handrail.

Followed by the impressive 30-meter rappel that crosses a waterfall of the Duratón River.

Another, 30-meter rappel, easier this time:

And then a slide:

The descent concludes with a final rappel of 23 meters (left) or 30 meters (right), which leaves you at the foot of the canyon:

Safety and Experience Level:

While the canyon is impressive, it is considered super safe and can be done without prior experience, as long as you are secured by a guide. Depending on the number of participants, the descent can take between 2 and 5 hours.

Canyon Overview:

As you can see in the videos, there are escape routes throughout the Somosierra Canyon. In fact, many companies skip the 30-meter rappel (R5), exiting after R3 and re-entering the canyon before R6. However, we believe that everyone is capable of doing R5, and we have always rapelled the entire canyon. It is important to remember that the perceived difficulty of a canyon is not always an accurate reflection of its safety. (When comparing prices, make sure you are getting the entire canyon!)

Duration:

Since this is the only canyon in the Community of Madrid, the only unknown is the duration of the descent, which can vary between 2 and 5 hours depending on the group size and whether there are other adventure companies ahead of you. We usually take our time and sometimes even bring a sandwich, as it is a beautiful place to spend the day.

If your starting and return point is Madrid, you should plan for a minimum of 7 hours: about 5 hours of canyoning and 1 hour each way for the trip from Madrid.

Difficulty:

The canyon can be adapted to different levels of experience, from children and beginners to intermediate and advanced. In technical terms, the canyon is rated A3 V3 III.

Meeting Point:

A good place to meet is the Cepsa gas station in the town of Somosierra. You can also inquire about transportation options to the canyon from Madrid, such as carpooling with the guide, which is a more ecological option.

Looking for a natural water park? Look no further than the Garganta de Arbillas in Poyales del Hoyo, Ávila!

This fun canyon is just 150 km from Madrid and is perfect for all levels of experience.

The Garganta de Arbillas is fed by La Mira mountain, which is located in the Sierra de Gredos mountain range and stands at 2,343 meters tall. This means that the canyon has water flowing through it all year round.

The canyon is home to a variety of exceptional slides, jumps, and rappels, all of which can be enjoyed in the crystal-clear waters.

You’ll also be able to enjoy the extraordinary scenery of this canyon, which includes pools carved into large rocks and surrounded by lush vegetation.

The Garganta de Arbillas is a great option for families and groups of friends looking for a fun and affordable activity to do together.

Here’s a brief description of the canyon descent to give you an idea of what to expect:

Technical information:

• The start of the canyoning activity is located just below the bridge of the Av-924 road that runs through the south of Gredos.
• You can jump into the pool at the start, but be careful as there are some shallow areas.

• The first rappel is located just opposite the start of the canyon and is 30 meters long. Some guides recommend using a 40-meter rope to do a 20-meter rappel, but it is much faster and safer to skip the intermediate rappel and downclimb to the pool.

• The canyon is home to some of the best slides in the central region of Spain:

• There is also a small handrail to help you practice your technique of securing yourself with anchor ropes:

• After the handrail, you will reach a ledge where you will need to make a decision:
  • Rappel down to the water…

• Deliberately leave the rope too short above the water level, so that you will fall into the pool when the rappel ends…
• Jump directly from the ledge into the water.

• The choice is yours! You could also democratically decide to go back up to the ledge after the rappel and jump into the pool…
• There are several more rappels to come, including one that is 8 meters long and two that are 20 meters long.

• After the last rappel, you will see the remains of a mill on the right-hand side. From here, you can climb back up to the road.
• The canyoning activity ends by climbing up the path that leads from the mill to the car park, which is located near a telephone tower.

Necessary equipment:

• In addition to the individual equipment: harness with descender and two anchor ropes, helmet, wetsuit and suitable footwear, it is necessary to have collective equipment consisting of at least one 60m rope or better two 30m ropes and a first aid kit and a mobile phone in a waterproof container inside the backpack.

Activity duration:

• It usually takes between 3 and 5 hours to complete the activity with a group of 6 beginners.

Meeting point:

• A good place to meet is the Restaurante el Rinconcillo, which is located 1 km from Poyales del Hoyo towards the NW on the Candeleda road (Av-924).

Location: If you want to try canyoning, Madrid has many options nearby. The Barranco de Portilla in Cuenca (also known as Hociquilla or Gollizno) is a «dry» canyon located in the Serranía de Cuenca, just 2 hours from Madrid.

Difficulty: It is ideal for beginners to canyoning as it has 7 rappels of increasing difficulty and no more than 12 meters that allow us to acquire the necessary technique to face more technical canyons. Both canyons are suitable for children from 9 to 70 years old… Although a 6-year-old adventurer has descended them perfectly… These canyons do not disappoint anyone, as the instructors adapt the route of each participant to their level.

Duration: Depending on the group, the descent of the canyon can last between 2 and 4 hours.

Combination: It can be combined with the Ventano del Diablo (Cortados del Júcar) which is a “100% aquatic” canyon, making the initiation “complete”. This combination is a perfect plan for an unforgettable day, after two canyoning activities near Madrid.

Sketch or description of the Barranco de Portilla:

In case you want more details about the canyon or if you venture alone, I leave you the map with the accesses and a sketch so you can get an idea. It is made from memory and the heights of the rappels were measured with the rope (without tape measure) so nobody is responsible for anything… I also attach the map with the accesses.

Know that if you rappel from R5, the rope can get blocked when you pick it up (¿one in 20 times?). The solution may be to climb the cable to release it but you will need a few meters of rope to go down to where the mess is… or better do the handrail to R5′ which is super cool and from there the rope does not get caught.

Although the canyon is dry, there is always water in the pool after the seventh rappel: We can take off our shoes and go barefoot or wet them, your choice…

There is also always water after the final fixed rope. But in that pool it covers up to the chest… the best option is to use the chimney technique used in climbing: With your feet on one wall and your back on the other… It’s easy, but we laugh a lot…

Meeting point: The municipal swimming pools of Villalba de la Sierra are a good meeting point.

Aquatic Canyoning near Madrid: Ventano del Diablo

If you are looking for canyoning, Madrid is a good base of operations.

It is located in Cuenca, in Villalba de la Sierra, less than 2 hours from Madrid.

The Ventano del Diablo (also known as Cortados del Júcar), is a 100% aquatic canyon, ideal for beginners. We will descend through the water one of the most gorge-like areas of the Júcar River.

Difficulty: It is a canyon suitable for the whole family. But if you go with friends, we will teach you a couple of jumps, that some may not dare to try. The qualified instructors will select the most suitable jumps and slides for the level of the group from among all of them. (There are none mandatory). Of course, it is necessary to know how to swim. Even so, and although the wetsuits help us to float, we can put a life jacket on the little ones.

Duration: Depending on the size of the group, the duration of the activity will be between 2 and 3 hours. As we can repeat the jumps as many times as we want, everyone leaves with their quota of emotions satisfied.

The environment: The Serranía de Cuenca Natural Park is an unknown paradise. It will be a pleasure to show you the small cave behind the waterfall or simply let yourself be carried away by the current looking at the sky. We are sure to see many vultures flying overhead. We may also see crayfish.

The combination: of this canyon with the Portilla canyon is a perfect plan for an unforgettable day of canyoning. If you want to know what canyoning is all about, this is your best option: rappelling in Portilla in the morning and after lunch (for example: at the natural viewpoint): into the water! at the Ventano.

Indeed, after the adrenaline of the Portilla rappels that require concentration and attention to the most technical part of canyoning, and after recovering our strength with a good sandwich contemplating the wonderful landscapes of the Park from the Mirador del Ventano, the afternoon activities in this natural SPA will leave us feeling refreshed and recharged.

Another very good option is to do the Ventano del Diablo via ferrata in the morning and the aquatic canyoning in the Júcar in the afternoon.

Other visits.

If you plan to spend a weekend in the area, and you have already had your dose of canyons, we recommend you visit the city of Cuenca: The views from the parador are worth it.

And in the Nature plan: El Hosquillo and/or the Ciudad Encantada.

Meeting point: The municipal swimming pools of Villalba de la Sierra are a good meeting point.

Poyatos Canyon

Location: The Poyatos Canyon is located in the Serranía de Cuenca, 193 km from Madrid.

Description: It is a very complete canyon with 7 rappels of up to 20 meters, jumps into crystal-clear pools and fun slides framed in an incomparable landscape.

Difficulty: It is a canyon that many people have done as a baptism and all without problems. I would recommend choosing another one as a first option: Portilla, El Ventano or Arbillas. As this one is longer, it is interesting to get used to another one and thus move more quickly in Poyatos which is more enjoyable.

Sketch:

Duration: The whole descent takes about 6 hours, so it is a plan for a whole day.

Environment: The area is spectacular, and from the beginning to the end of the canyon, each bend in the river is a surprise: It seems that the pools never end…

Combination: The easiest thing to do if we do the activity quickly is to combine it with the Fuertescusa via ferrata. If we are in the area for several days we could do any of the canyons or via ferratas in the area.

Meeting point: A good place to meet is in Fuertescusa at the bar on Calle Fragua nº2. You can also ask about the possibility of sharing a car with the instructor from Madrid, which is always more ecological…

The process is pretty easy:

• Contact me (+34 608 622 404), Phone or whatsapp. Also by email barrancoakenay@gmail.com
• Tell me what you want to do (I can advise you).
• We will look for a free date.
• If you are 4 or more people, we will schedule the trip, if not, we will look for more participants.
• You will give me an advance of at least 50%.
• We will meet at a point close to the chosen area, or at my house if you finally come in my van. The rest will be paid there.

Tell us what you want and we offer you the best option for your group: Each group is different: Number of participants, experience, ages, the time they have, their personal tastes, the weather of the day chosen to carry out the multi-adventure activity. Without leaving Madrid, we have a portfolio of a dozen canyons, 6 ferratas, plenty of climbing routes and snowshoe routes.

Canyoning near Madrid:

• Somosierra is the closest ravine, in case you don’t have much time.
• Arbillas is the most complete ravine.
• Portilla + Ventano to make the most of it: 2 ravines in the day.
• Poyatos if it has just rained in the basin area.
• Etc.

If you prefer via ferratas:

• Sacedon is the closest and cheapest (only from july to january)
• The Ventano del Diablo is perhaps the highest and has the coolest views. (And then you can jump into the river…)
• Huerta del Rey and Pasarela Espela on the same day is amazing.
• Etc…

Call us and we will advise you on the best plan for you!

Adventure companies usually say that a ravine is:

Easy, medium or hard. Level I, Level II, or Level III. Beginner, intermediate or advanced…..

The canyons that are commercially exploited around Madrid, in normal weather conditions, are all easy: if I help you enough. But they can be advanced if I let you figure it out on your own. For example, the same rappel from the right handrail, secured by the monitor, is done by everyone, but if you mount the retrievable handrail yourself and rappel from the left drop, self-belaying, you are a champion…. It is also true that rappelling into a narrow pool is suitable for everyone, but jumping into that same pool can only be done by some, safely.

A guide who knows the canyon can make it very easy or very difficult for you…. I took a 6-year-old girl and her father to the Portilla canyon (he had climbed two eight-thousanders) and they both enjoyed the ravine.

To find out what they will find when they go to a new ravine, canyoners use a scale that consists of 3 areas of difficulty: from the aquatic point of view, verticality and Commitment. The Somosierra ravine is: A3 V3 III

Water difficulty: A3 (out of 7) means:

– Swimming in calm water less than 30 meters
– Easy jumps from 3 to 5 meters
– Long slides

Verticality: V3 (out of 7) means:

– Vertical with low flow rate
– Climbing esay, little exposed but may need to be secured
– Rappels less than 30 meters
– Slippery, unstable and abrupt progression

Commitment: III (over VI) means:

– Escapes within 1 hour
– Travel time from 4 to 8 hours

Most of those who have tried canyoning with us were first-timers. Everyone can go canyoning. It is a pleasure to adapt and teach everyone the techniques of canyoning to the best of their ability. We adapt the way to explain the different maneuvers used in the canyons based on the experience or previous training of the participants. Of course, within the margins of 100% safety, we will give you all the prominence so that you are really the one who descends the ravine «alone». (You’ll be secured with a lanyard that will only tighten if you let go of your own.)

Children can also go canyoning. The conditions are: that an adult descends first to release the child’s rope when he finishes his abseiling. That the child knows how to swim. That there are wetsuits in your size. The youngest one who came with me was 6 years old.

During the descent of the ravine:

Sneakers or boots for canyoning with soles in good condition. They will get wet.
Swimsuit. Optional lycra t-shirt under the neoprene.
If you wear glasses, it is advisable to tie them so you don’t lose them.
In the case of wearing contact lenses, it is advisable to bring swimming goggles so as not to lose them.
Energy bars and water to take away during the canyon. (In long ravines).
Be careful with cameras and phones because they can get wet and/or lost
For after lowering the barrels:

Towel and warm change of clothes, depending on the weather forecast.
Spare shoes and socks.
Picnic and drink.
In case of storing belongings in the organization’s car, it cannot be held responsible in case of theft, so it is advisable not to leave valuable items.

Each activity has a meeting point, usually at a bar or gas station in the town closest to the point where the activity takes place. But if you don’t have your own vehicle, we can put you in touch with other participants and you share the ride that is always more fun. At Akenay we also usually travel from Madrid to do the activity with you, so we can very possibly take you in our van at no additional cost.