Cova del Penitent

Balma de Granera (Moianès) with remains of a hermitic construction, south-facing, 44 m wide and 9.5 m maximum depth.

Granera • Moianès 10m

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Cova del Penitent

Balma de Granera (Moianès) with remains of a hermitic construction, south-facing, 44 m wide and 9.5 m maximum depth.

Granera · Moianès

Length: 10 m

Updated record

https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/cova-del-penitent

Information can change. Always verify coordinates, access, weather, and cave conditions before setting out.

Topographic map of the main entrance — Main entrance · ICGC topographic map

Balma de Granera (Moianès) with remains of a hermitic construction, south-facing, 44 m wide and 9.5 m maximum depth.

Characteristics

Type: Cave
Municipality: Granera
Region: Moianès
Unit: Farell, el - Cingles de Gallifa
Length: 10 meters
Depth: 0 meters
Major Unit: Serralada Prelitoral
Lithology: Sandstone
Updated on EspeleoÍndex: October 30, 2020

Location

In the SE of the municipality of Granera, east of the farmhouse of Salvatges, at the foot of a small cliff located on the hydrographic right of the torrent de la font de la Teula.

Starting from Castellterçol we will take the road to Granera. Shortly after kilometre 2, an unpaved track leaves on the left, though further on it is paved. We will pass several turnings; we must head towards the farmhouse of Salvatges. At a certain point, the track – now unpaved – passes beside a large water tank. We will leave the car here; the farmhouse is some distance below the tank. We will continue on foot for about 180 m along the same track we came from, to leave it on the left, climbing the slope until we find the cavity, which is only about 20 m from the track.

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

Cova del Penitent
Elevation: 885 m
41.717086, 2.095005
UTM 31T (ETRS89) 424719 4618761
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Topographic

Cova del Penitent - Topography, Granera, Moianès

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

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Photos

Cova del Penitent - Photo, Granera, Moianès

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

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Description

Morphology

The rock shelter is 44 m wide with a maximum depth of 9.5 m. South-facing, from it a beautiful landscape is contemplated. The western half is the most habitable, the place where we find a construction of which only parts of the walls are preserved. It consists of a chamber with interior dimensions 6.4 x 3.2 m with a ceiling height of around 2.3 m. It seems it would have been an important construction, since some walls are almost one metre thick and remains of a rendering on the interior walls are preserved. The smoke-blackened ceiling indicates the place where the kitchen would have been.

In the middle of the rock shelter there is a large block fallen from the ceiling that divides the cavity in two. The ceiling of the rock shelter is strongly conditioned by the stratification planes, almost horizontal.

Other details

The name of the cavity appears labelled on the ICC map, but it places it considerably further east than the place where it really is. Despite all this, the cavity has gone unnoticed by speleologists and does not appear in any speleological catalogue.

Catalogued by members of the Espeleo Club Muntanyenc Barcelonès and of the Grup d'Espeleologia de Badalona who visited it at the end of July 2020.

History

It is said that a hermit had lived there, known as Peret de les Monges, who wanted to be a saint. Surely he must have been a good man, since the bell-ringer of Castellterçol, Nasi Codina, called him “the living saint”, and the blacksmith Lluís Burés explained that ”if anyone has to go to heaven, only en Peret would go”.

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Bibliography

Totes les dades, topografia i fotografies han estat extretes del web: geb.cat (del Grup d'Espeleologia de Badalona). Apunt del 10-8-2020. Dades: Ferran Cardona (ECM Barcelonès), Josep Cuenca i Xavier Samarra (GE Badalona).