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Cova Penjada del Grau d'ingla

Cova Penjada del Grau d'ingla

A 42 m long cave in the Vall d'Ingla (Cerdanya), with a gallery divided by the remains of a partition and an upper entrance that descends through a shaft.

Bellver de Cerdanya • Cerdanya 42m 17m

A 42 m long cave in the Vall d'Ingla (Cerdanya), with a gallery divided by the remains of a partition and an upper entrance that descends through a shaft.

Characteristics

Location

Leaving Talló (a hamlet of Bellver) we take the paved track that goes into the Vall d'Ingla.

After passing the Romanesque chapel of Sant Serni the asphalt ends, but the track is suitable for cars. A few metres further on from the Font del Capellà and after 2.7 km from Sant Serni, we leave the cars.

From here a steep path stabilized with logs starts.

Climbing a few metres we find the first climbing section, we pass a metal fence and follow a well-marked path. Shortly after, a path branches off to the left, optional, very steep, equipped with fixed ropes that in approximately 15 minutes places us below a cliff where we find the so-called balmes or Abric de l'Ingla, where some faint rock paintings made with finger marks are represented.

We can also reach the same spot by following the previous well-marked path, which takes a slightly longer detour (there are also fixed ropes on the most exposed sections).

Once at the balmes we observe a large number of climbing routes of notable difficulty. We traverse the cliff in a southerly direction and pass below the overhang where the cavity is located.

When the walls end, a path climbs to the upper part of the cliff, from where we will set up a rappel to access the cavity. The overhang can also be accessed by a somewhat exposed traverse.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Grau d'ingla, Cova Penjada del

    Elevation: 1315 m

    42.329204, 1.782607
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 399699 4687046
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Cova Penjada del Grau d'ingla - Photo, Bellver de Cerdanya, CerdanyaView image
Click to enlarge

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

Image 1 of 5

Description

Morphology

Through a large entrance one enters a gallery divided in two by the remains of a separating partition. The final section is slightly descending until it becomes impassable.

Descending the cliff gives access to an upper entrance that, through a shaft with inclined walls, emerges a few metres beyond the lower entrance.

Progression

From the upper part of the cliff a rappel is set up to access the cavity. The overhang can also be accessed by a somewhat exposed traverse.

Other details

From the sedimented floor, and on the surface, several fragments of pottery were collected which, by their typology, may date from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages.

History

The first data we have are those provided by members of the SIE – CEA who explored it in August and October 1983.

In early November 2023 members of the Espeleodijous, informed by Jordi Álvarez, a climber who knows the area well and thinking it was an unpublished cavity, visited it and updated the data and location.

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Bibliography

  1. Pallarès, Joan (1986).- “Primera troballa de pintura esquemàtica al vessant meridional del Pirineu”. EspeleoSie (28): 2-7. SIE – Centre Excursionista Àliga. Barcelona.
  • Revisió de coordenades, topografia 2023 i fotografies extretes del web: espeleodijous.cat Apunt d'activitat del 9-11-2023


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