The Fornocal canyon is an absolute must in the Sierra de Guara.  Eroded from both conglomerate and calcareous rock, it boasts spectacular landscapes and a varied and delightful descent.

The best season for visiting the canyon is the spring, or after rain, as in the summer the pools can become stagnant and the rocks tend to be full of spiders and lizards sunbathing!  With water is a hugely enjoyable, with enclosed passageways and narrows as well as a variety of rappels and drops.

It is semi-aquatic due to the number of pools along the way, despite the fact that the flow of the FornocalRiver is meagre throughout most of the year.


Downloads 

pdfInformación técnica y mapas


Technical information 

Approach: between 45 minutes and an hour. Leave the second car (see car combination) on the small, levelled area at the 19km mark on the road from Colungo to Arcusa (just past the knoll known as the Collado de San Caprasio) and next to a fence that stops cars from using the forest track. Follow this path on foot through the forest for around 3km.  Ignore the first chance to access the river bed and continue up a little further until reaching a level clearing.  Here, there is a footpath to the right which ill take you down to the river bed and the start of the descent. Nearest villages: Colungo (first car) and Asque (second car.)

Descent4 - 5 hours    KM: 3000m

Regreso: 20 minutes 

Escapes: 

Escape routes: No obvious way out of the canyon along this route. There is a possibility of leaving the canyon in the area known as the Portal de la Cunarda, but it is not advisable at it would take around 3 hours to reach the first car. 

Car combination: Leave the first car near the bridge in the Gargantas canyon, which is on the same road between Colungo and Arcusa where the second car will be parked.

Difficulty level: Medium throughout the year

Minimum equipment requirements

  •         Full wetsuit
  •         Helmet
  •         Harness
  •         Double anchor lanyard
  •         Equipment for abseiling (figure-of-eight descender)
  •         Ropes
  •         2 rope of at least 15m in length
  •         Waterproof canyoning backpack
  •         Watertight barrel
  •         Water and picnic 

Points of interest  

  • Muriecho shelter which is home to a superb pre-historic rock painting depicting hunting, painted in the Levantine style.
  • Route Portal de la Cunarda.

Photo gallery 

  • Fornocal 1
  • Fornocal 2
  • Fornocal 3
  • Fornocal 4
  • Fornocal 5
  • Fornocal 6
  • Fornocal 7
  • Fornocal 8