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Welcome to the “Terra Alta”, Catalonia’s famous wine growing region. Catalunya is a country within a country. Its capital is Barcelona. It also has its own Regional Government, language, customs, wine and food which has allowed it to maintain quite a separate cultural identity within Spain. The Terra Alta is at the southern end of Catalonia, 180 kms. from Barcelona, 55 kms. from Salou beach, Universal Studios and Port Aventura. The nearest airport is Reus just 60 kms. away. The climate in this area is still divided into seasons.

The hottest months are July and August, with winter covering December through to February. As a rule the highest rainfall comes in September and October. Down on the coast the Costa Durada is drier and more reliably sunny than the Costa’s further north which allows the hotels to open for business as early as March. There are many coastal bays and villages along the Costa Durada which offer long stretches of sandy beach, calm warm seas, and traditional Catalan food - fresh fish, rice dishes, seafood, and local cooking. Also along this coastline is the Delta E’bre where the River Ebro meets the Mediterranean Sea. Here is one of the most important places for bird watching. It is also home to the greater flamingos of which almost 2000 nest and reproduce here. Two coastal villages sit either side of the Delta - L’Ampola, known as Delta’s Door and Sant Carles De La Rapita which has become a strategic base from which to visit the Delta and surrounding areas

The main town of this area is Tortosa. The city is situated on the River Ebro and is the capital of the Southern area of Catalonia. This city provides interesting historical sites, popular festivals and fairs, good accommodation in the historical Castle of “La Zuda”, good restaurants and designer label shopping. The River Ebro is one of Spain’s most celebrated waterways. It enters southern Catalunya from Aragon and is a fisherman’s paradise with Red Mullet, Perch, Carp and the famous Catfish in abundance. Many fishermen come here to try their hand at landing some of the 100 pound or so Catfish. Following the river inland we come to Xerta. Here is the famous Dam I’Assut, a piece of hydraulic engineering first started in the Islamic period, collecting water for the two irrigation channels which provide water for the much sought after Oranges and Olive Oil grown in the area.

The next village up river is Benifallet. In the 1960’s the Coves Meravelles were discovered, which attract tourists in both summer and winter boosting the village economy. Leaving the River Ebro behind we move inland through the mountains to the Terra Alta region. This region is home to around 13,000 citizens divided among the 12 villages of La Pobla de Massaluca, La Fatarella, Vilalba dels Arcs, Batea, Corbera D’Ebre, Arnes, Le Pinell de Brai, Horta de Sant Joan and Gandesa, which stands out as the largest population centre with almost 3,000 citizens. This particular area is famous for the last major clash of the Spanish Civil War, the battle of the Ebro, which lasted from July to September 1938. It was the single most violent encounter of the war leaving about 21,000 dead, including British soldiers. Many of the villages were badly damaged or in the case of Corbera D’Ebre completely destroyed leading to a new town being built near by. There are many monuments around the area dedicated to those who died in the battle. At El Pinell de Brai is one of the most important jewels from Modernist Catalonia, the cellar called “Wine’s Cathedral”, built by Cesar Martinell i Brunet, a disciple of the famous Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi. It is considered his best work. About 10 kms. out of the village is Sta. Magdelena’s chapel high in the Pandols Mountains and part of the Fontcalder National Park. Here you can find a peace memorial built after the Civil War, with stunning views of the Terra Alta, the Delta and Aragon lands. Horta de Sant Joan also known as “Picasso’s Paradise” is an inland village in the Terres de I’Ebre. It has stunning scenery with the famous Massif of the Ports Mountains as a backdrop. Picasso stayed twice at Horta which gave him such inspiration he is quoted as saying “everything I know I have learnt in Horta”.


The work, which is about 240 paintings, can be viewed in reproduction in Horta’s Picasso Centre. A visit to any of these villages provides stunning landscape, historical architecture, local food and many leisure pursuits including walking, fishing, canoeing, cycling, horse riding, rock climbing and animal watching, the most common of which are Ibex, wild boar, badger, otter, falcon, eagles, kestrels and buzzards. For the more gentile there are picnics by the streams, having a coffee in one of the many local bars, people watching or even a glass or two of wine along the famous Wine Route. Until recently the “Terra Alta” was a region completely agricultural. More than 31,000 hectares are cultivated with 44% of these planted in vineyards. The region produces 30.000.000 litres of wine per year and is well known for its colour and intense aroma, its fruity flavour and high alcohol content. There are 53 cellars with the title “denominacion de origen Terra Alta” (Grown in the Terra Alta). Other main agricultural products are almonds and olives, both produced for oil and eating. So why come to Southern Catalunya? For a lot of people it offers them the opportunity to experience what rural Spain is all about and integrate in village life. There are no Macdonald’s, fish and chip shops, discos, hipermarkets and DIY superstores. But there are more important issues, which overturn all of those things. To wake up in the morning and see the sun shinning, Mediterranean blue sky, peace and quiet, travel to the village with stunning scenery knowing you will be the only car on the road, instead of the thousands on the M25. Many people come with dreams and ambitions. They choose the Terra Alta region because of its beauty, climate and way of life - to find a more relaxed way of life in an area with fabulous scenery, good weather and no commercialism - the real Spain.~~~288~298~~