Coves del Monnell

A rock shelter of 12X5X4 metres with an ascending floor places us at the foot of a 15-metre climb (the last metres in artificial). The entrance forms a beautiful terrace of irregular floor plan “balcón de los Cenutrios” (*). After climbing a short step we reach a wide room with a high ceiling, which connects at the opposite end with a descending gallery that is easy to explore until it ends in a crawl at 10 metres of passage. This gallery has two small continuations on the left wall, these being ascending tubes of short length. The crawl with a very low ceiling connects at 3 metres with a small round room; from here we find a series of narrow passages interspersed with wider ones, totalling 19 metres of passage. Abruptly, after climbing a short semi-vertical narrow passage, we reach the start of a gallery that widens progressively until reaching its widest part at 6X4 metres, with a flat floor covered in earth. This gallery has a linear passage of 28 metres and two exits to the outside, which open onto the cliff (SC-32). The cavity has a total passage of 92 metres, while the height difference between entrances is +22 metres. The outside distance between entrances is about thirty metres.

To reach SC-32, it is necessary to position oneself above the cliff, climbing up by the Murcurols waterfall; on the right we find a faint path. Once situated above the cliff where we find some thick-trunked holm oaks (data from 1987), one must descend by rappel about 5 metres of cliff where we will find the two entrances half hidden among blocks and vegetation. After a climb of about 15 metres, we entered the cavity proper, exploring about 30 metres up to an endless narrow obstacle. Three trips were needed, carrying out obstructions removal to widen the narrow passages and be able to connect SC-31 with the neighbouring SC-32.

(*) Cenutrios: Hombres lerdos, zoquetes, estúpidos. Diccionario R.A.E. (22 edición).