Route through the Sima de la Febrón from Pla de l'Agustenc

Shortly after, in a clearing in the forest, we will find a fork in the path where the PR marks continue along the path to the right. In any case, both paths bring us closer to the Sima de la Febró, although the path on the left arrives faster and in the southern part of the gap in the chasm.

When we reach the chasm we will have to proceed with the logical precaution to avoid the precipice and if you are a little confused it is a good idea to watch for the gap between the vegetation to avoid a false step. Just with a bit of caution, we see a narrow cleft in the terrain and if we get closer we will see the depth of this geological curiosity.

To enter, we are going to look for the northernmost access to the chasm, although there is also an access through a midpoint where the relief allows us to go down without a problem (there are a couple of chains but it is more in case someone needs it than not because nothing more).

If we are going to look for the north access, it is convenient not to continue following the path of the PR that would take us away and it goes towards the town of La Febró. In the northern part of the chasm, we will see a path that turns to the left and enters the Riscal gorge. This first section of the chasm is much less spectacular since it is neither as high nor as deep as we have seen in the photos. In fact, this piece is avoidable if we go down the chains that we have mentioned.

Shortly after, we will see a large rock suspended and wedged between the walls of the chasm and we will begin the descent towards the most spectacular section of this well. The breach has a wider first section, where light still enters, and a narrower second that practically does not allow vegetation to grow on the wall due to the low light. In this last section, you come to some flat rocks that, as if they were an altar, show us the steepest part and where we would need a rope to go down. Until now we will have had that intrepid feeling of feeling a little "Indiana Jones" or starring in a chapter of Jules Verne's famous book on his journey to the center of the Earth.

For geology lovers, they will be able to observe various strata and types of rocks, fragments and overlaps. Surely the origin of this 25m high chasm may be due to the tectonic movement of the rock layer of the Sierra de la Mussara and the shearing, erosion and fissure of the rocks due to the effect of water, ice and karstification (when the water seeps through fissures, the ice widens them and chasms and caves are created, and based on thousands of years it ends up creating what we see before us, a true prodigy of geology.If we carry a lamp, we will also see a branch of a cave in the east wall of the chasm.

Once we have taken the pertinent photos, we return to our point of origin going up the path with the fixed support chains and undo the path until we return to the Agustenc plain where we have left the car, after having entered for a few minutes in the bowels of the Prades Mountains, mountains that always surprise us in the south of our small country.

Authorship photographs and text: Sergi Boixader