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Cova de Montaspre

Cova de Montaspre

Cova sota les ruïnes de l'església de Sant Miquel de Montaspre a l'Ametlla de Montsec (Camarasa).

Camarasa • Noguera32m16m

Cave beneath the ruins of the church of Sant Miquel de Montaspre, in l'Ametlla de Montsec (Camarasa).

Characteristics

Location

Access from Àger: take the old l'Ametlla path that leaves from beside the municipal sports area, on a route of 5.5 km, passing through Conill, and park at the ETRS89 coordinates 318521 - 4654547. From here, head to the ruins of Sant Miquel de Montaspre; of the church only the right wall remains, with part of the apse and the entrance door. From the opposite end of the hermitage (next to the walled-up door), follow a waymarked path that leads to the entrance of the cave.

It can also be reached from l'Ametlla del Montsec on a route of just over 2.6 km along the Àger path, which passes by the Barlà farmhouse; shortly before reaching the farmhouse, at the height of the Barlà vineyard, at the ETRS89 coordinates 318555 - -4654090, there is an information sign indicating a path that climbs towards the castle of Montaspre. Once at the castle, head to the church of Sant Miquel, from where the path leading to the cave starts.

Mapa

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Montaspre

    Elevation: 749 m

    42.020246, 0.809224
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 318618 4654346
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Cova de Montaspre - Photo, Camarasa, NogueraView image
Click to enlarge

Espeleoindex · CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ · Image © its author.

Image 1 of 11

Description

Morphology

The mouth, divided by the ceiling, gives access by means of a step of just over one metre to a fairly high gallery that descends in a ramp. Halfway along the route there are some blocks that form a step of just over one metre of drop. The gallery continues descending until it becomes impenetrable at -16.5 metres of drop. The average width of the gallery is 0.9 metres.

History

The cave takes its name from the old castle and the church of Sant Miquel de Montaspre, which lies just above the cave.

The first reference to the place called Asper Mons is found in the year 1048, in the will granted by Arnau Mir de Tost and his wife Arsenda.

In the year 1057, in a document of an exchange, it is cited as Asperum Montis; and in the year 1066, in a document of distribution of goods of the abbey of Àger, it is cited as Aspremont.

It is in the year 1112, in a will of Guillem Gilabert, where it is already cited as Montaspre.

The cave, despite being known by local people, some hikers from Lleida and being signposted on the signs of the itinerary to the castle, has remained unpublished in the speleological bibliography.

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Bibliography

  • Dades i coordenades facilitades per Joan Ramon Segura, del seu blog (excursionsdeljoanramon.blogspot.com) post del dia 12-12-2022. També hi ha l'enllaç al track per arribar-hi.
  • Dades, topografia i fotografies facilitades per Juli Serrano (SIE-CEA) i Francesc Rubinat (ERE-CEC), desembre 2022.

Source: Espeleoindex (espeleoindex.com), modified. CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/