Tavertet cliffs and sunken village of Sant Roma de Sau

Taveret cliffs and the Sau reservoir are one of the most unusual and beautiful places in Catalonia. At the same time, it's not easy reachable.

We arrived in the evening to see the sunset. But you can come at any time of the day, in the morning it's even better. There is a dirt road to the end of the cliffs, because there located a small hostel Casa Virupa, but it's closed during the day. On the entrance to the town of Tavertet there is a barrier and a paid parking (N 41 59.850 E 2 25.086), where tourists leave cars. The distance from the parking to the edge of the cliffs is about 3.5 kilometers. I think if you arrive early in the morning, the barrier will be open and you will be able to drive.

The town itself is also beautiful, all houses are built of natural, local materials. The main attraction is the church of the 12th century - San Cristófol.

Near the start of the track there is an equipped observation deck, but we missed it, since the views over the reservoir are much more picturesque.






Rocks are very impressive from the air.




If you want to look at the rocks from the other side of the reservoir, then you can get there by car, the coordinates of a small parking lot N 41 57.918 E 2 23.678.


From time to time, the cliffs are covered with clouds and then you can see a sea of clouds below.




Below, under the cliffs, there is another interesting place - the sunken village of Sant Romà de Sau. Depending on the water level, you can see the church. Parking is here N 41 58.532 E 2 23.717.

If you want to go down from the cliffs to the church on foot, then find the trails here and install Maps.Me app.




Back in 1962, this valley looked quite different, but then a dam appeared and the water flooded this picturesque place. 1000 inhabitants were moved to the neighboring village.




Use this link to see the daily route through the rocks from the village of Taveret with a descent to the church and a visiting several viewpoints.

Now the important information. Despite the fact that everything is located nearby, there are few roads and logistics in this place is very difficult. For example, you need to go by car 50 km to get from the village of Tavertet to the sunken church, although distance on foot is only 4 km.

We were in the car and did the following. In the afternoon we arrived to Tavertet. Visted two more places along the road: Sant Pere de Caceres monastery viewpoint and the viewpoint of Morro de l'Abella. Walked on the cliffs at sunset (0), returned to the car and drove to the hotel (1).

There is a problem with hotels in this place, it's not easy to find them. We slept in Parador De Vic-Sau (booking.com), it is located in a very picturesque place.

The next day in the morning we drove along a little-known road (2). Stopped few times and went to the shore, the most beautiful place is here N 41 57.918 E 2 23.678 (3). Continued to another viewpoint N 41 58.077 E 2 24.365 (4) and to the church N 41 58.532 E 2 23.717 (5), where walked on the beach. And then continued to Rupit along another little-known road (6).


Getting there: By bus at first go to L'Esquirol (schedule), then to Tavertet (schedule).