Ruta del Parrizal, a beautiful trail in Parc Naturel Els Ports

Special, beautiful, green, adventurous and exhausting, all words that come to mind when I think of this beautiful trail in the mountains of nature park Els Ports in Tarragona.

In the middle of one of the warm, Spanish summers we walked this trail in the mountains in the Els Ports nature park, namely the “Ruta Del Parrizal” near Beceite.

Ruta del Parrizal, a gem in Els Ports Natural Park

Ruta del Parrizal is a hiking trail in the middle of the Els Ports nature park. Els Ports Natural Park is located in the south of the province of Tarragona, in the Terres de L'Ebre region. Els Ports Nature Park is a mountain range with a height of more than 1,400 meters. Besides the fact that you can visit this highest point, Mont Caro, you can discover many more beautiful gems in the Els Ports nature park. Ruta del Parrizal is definitely one of these gems.

Ruta del Parrizal, 8 kilometers up and down

Ruta del Parrizal is a hiking trail of about 8 kilometers to the canyon. And of course it is also 8 kilometers back. That is a long walk and yet Ruta del Parrizal is really doable for young and old.

Ruta del Parrizal starts quite flat with a wide path that looks quite boring. But immediately you see the beautiful, clear mountain water rippling through the stream that flows next to the path. On the other side of the path you pass a high cave that you can climb into, where there is not much to see, except for a deep, dark hole.

Walk on water at Ruta del Parrizal

After a while the flat, wide path changes into a narrower path and then you come to the wider stream. Then Ruta del Parrizal really starts. This is also one of the most beautiful parts of Ruta del Parrizal. They have created a beautiful path over the water by attaching wood to the rocks. It is very narrow, so if there are people coming from the other way, you have to stand flat against the rocks to let them through. You will be really impressed with this part of Ruta del Parrizal, the environment is really beautiful. Especially because of the beautiful blue and clear water, it is very nice to walk here. It becomes clear here that the Els Ports nature park has a lot to offer.

The more difficult part of Ruta del Parrizal

After a while, Ruta del Parrizal gets a bit spicier. There is certainly some climbing over rocks. But every time you think it's getting too much the path gets more flat and you have the chance to catch your breath a little bit. When you take some moments to rest, also the more spicy part of Ruta del Parrizal is really doable.

The impressive canyon of Ruta del Parrizal

As you continue your hike, you walk lower and lower into the canyon and you get closer and closer to the end point of Ruta del Parrizal. You walk through the forest, enclosed by high rocks. The surroundings are really nice. And the further you walk, the higher the rocks around you get and when you get to the end point, WOW!

The rocks close above you

The destination point of Ruta del Parrizal is the end of the canyon. You really walk into the canyon, under the rocks that close above you. To get further in this last part of Ruta del Parrizal some climbing is needed. But it's worth it, because the surroundings here are really beautiful. To get further into the canyon you will have to walk through the icy mountain water.

Frozen feet on Ruta del Parrizal

After the walk through the icy water, you will walk further and deeper into the canyon with slightly frozen feet. A really cool and unique place.

You can even go further into the canyon, but for that you have to climb along the rock holding on to ropes. However, the water here was very deep. And at the end you also had to climb up the rock. Although we would have liked to see this, I didn't dare to do it with the children and they didn't dare either, because they saw the people stumbling to walk this part. For little children this is just a little bit too dangeours, because they might slip and they fall either on a rock or in the icy water. So this is where it stopped for us. But that didn't make it any less fantastic. Maybe we'll hike Ruta del Parrizal again when they're older and maybe we'll go even further into the canyon.

The natural pool of Beceite, the perfect ending to Ruta del Parrizal

The intention was to end this walk, Ruta del Parrizal, in the natural swimming pool in Beceite. At the bottom of the mountain in the Els Ports nature park they have a naturally constructed swimming pool with mountain water. You can jump off rocks in the natural pool of Beceite, but there are also plenty of places to lie on your towel in the sun and recover from the long walk. Unfortunately we went on a national holiday and it was so busy that we decided to skip it. But we definitely want to go back again.

Ruta del Parrizal, practical tips

We have another small practical tip for when you decide to walk Ruta del Parrizal. There are several parking spaces at Ruta del Parrizal. Parking space 1 is by the pool, the natural pool in Beceite. Parking lot 2 is slightly higher, and slightly closer to the starting point of Ruta del Parrizal. From this parking lot it is a 2.5 kilometer walk to the starting point of the trail. Parking lot 3 is located at the starting point of Ruta del Parrizal. When we arrived this parking lot was full, but we were allowed to wait in parking lot 2 until there was parking space at the starting point, parking lot 3. The wait was really worth it, especially if you have children. Because that extra 2.5 kilometers hiking to go to the starting point and 2.5 kilometers back would have been too much for the children. And the cars are constantly coming and going, so I don't think you have to wait long for a spot at the top.

It is paid parking at Ruta del Parrizal. Parking space 2 (walking further) costs €4 per car and parking space 3 (starting point) costs €8 per car. We would definitely go back and just walk this trail again. The surrounding of Els Ports nature park were really beautiful.

Adress: Camino del Parrizal, 44588 Beceite, Teruel