Skip to main content
Graller d'Espills

Graller d'Espills

A 61-metre-deep pit in the Serra de Lleràs (Tremp), with a large entrance about 5x3 metres, a 40-metre shaft and an ascending gallery.

Tremp • Pallars Jussà 76m 61m

A 61-metre-deep pit in the Serra de Lleràs (Tremp), with a large entrance about 5x3 metres, a 40-metre shaft and an ascending gallery.

Characteristics

Location

The pit is located in the Serra de Lleràs, in Tremp. In the old records for this cavity, access was recommended from Talarn and Montibarri, due to the absence of tracks passable by vehicles from the Esplugafreda side. At present this path can still be used, but it is more advisable to go via Esplugafreda and follow the path that leads to the Botet de Casa Rei, climbing up the right-hand slope of the barranc dels Botets, a tributary of the barranc d'Esplugafreda; at the height of the barranc del Graller, the path changes slope and climbs up the left side of the ravine to a col where we will leave the vehicle. The enormous entrance can be seen from some distance. Care must be taken to spot a cairn on the left and, once past it, we find a sign and a track that branches off to the right (it is about 7 kilometres from Esplugafreda). At this point we leave the cars and go back to the cairn that marks the start of the descent; we zigzag a little and follow the cairns that in a little over two minutes leave us at the entrance of the pit.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Espills, Graller d'

    Elevation: 1221 m

    42.223554, 0.794294
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 317965 4676953
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Graller d'Espills - Photo, Tremp, Pallars JussàView image
Click to enlarge

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

Image 1 of 4

Description

Morphology

It is a large entrance, about 5x3 metres. From the access funnel, which has a drop of -13 metres between its lips, one reaches a fine 40-metre-deep shaft with an average section of 5x3 metres, which increases from -20 metres of descent onwards. At the base of the shaft (-53 metres) there is an ascending gallery 15 metres long by 4 wide and 13 metres high. At the upper end of the ramp, hanging at about 10 metres of height, a conduit one metre in diameter can be seen. In the descending direction the gallery turns about 90º and 10 metres further on it turns another 90º, recovering the NW-SE direction parallel to the gallery of the entrance shaft.

Speleothems

From the conduit one metre in diameter hanging at about 10 metres of height, a showy flowstone descends.

Progression

A 20-metre rope is rigged to a tree to make the approach to the rigging that descends the 40-metre shaft. This rope is essential, since descending without belaying is very dangerous because the ground is sandy as well as damp and slippery.

History

The first exploration was carried out by members of the Grup Espeleològic Pedraforca (Barcelona) in 1966, although it remained practically unpublished until 1973, when it was relocated by the SIE - CEA during the campaigns that were being carried out at that time in the Serra de Lleràs.

User Comments (0)

No comments yet.

Be the first to share your experience!

Registered Explorations (0)

No explorations registered yet.

Register your visit to this cave!

Bibliography

  1. Victoria, J.M.;Iñigo, G;Rovira, J.(1974).-”Karstificación en los conglomerados del margen derecho de la Conca de Tremp.(Lérida). Espeleosie (16):71-120. SIE-CE Àliga. Barcelona.
  • Situació, coordenades i fotografies extretes del blog: espeleobloc.blogspot (apunt del 22-7-2016). Text i fotografies de Montse Roca i Julio Serrano (SIE - CEA) que van localitzar la cavitat gràcies a les coordenades facilitades per Jordi Pasqual (GESAM, Tremp)

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