Trevelez Canyon in Granada:
An intense canyon in the foothills of Sierra Nevada

Vertical canyon walls in the foothills of Sierra Nevada

Trevelez is a truly impressive canyon, unique in Andalusia and Spain, located in the Alpujarra of Granada, in the southern foothills of Sierra Nevada. It is unique for many reasons, although it stands out for being a canyon with a steep slope, with high vertical walls of red and black slate with a lot of iron content which gives it a mysterious, wild, or golden cathedral appearance.

It is only possible to do this activity in the months of August and September or close to those months which is when the thawing season in the Sierra Nevada normally ends and the water level drops. At that time this canyon is accessible, although our sports technicians will inform you when it is the best time to tackle it.

Intense coloured waters

Its ferruginous waters, like its walls, are of an intense earthy colour due to the high iron content of the slate, although you might think from the photos that it is earth or clay. Curiously, the Poqueira ravine, which flows into the same place as Trevelez, has crystal clear waters, as the river bed here lacks iron ore.

Multiple abseils for those with experience

Travélez canyon, the greatest exponent of Andalusian and one of the most technical in Spain, is our most technical descent, with a 1 hour uphill approach, 14 very varied vertical drops, with abseils of up to 30 metres, abseiling with aerial exits, a 20 metre handrail, an 8 metre handrail and a flying handrail (…). Due to the narrowness of some of its sections, even with an acceptable water flow, it requires a certain agility on the part of the athlete. The difficulty will vary according to the water flow rate at which it is approached.

The Trevelez canyon is suitable for those who have had previous canyoning experience, are familiar with abseiling, are agile and in good physical condition.

The most incredible abseils under impressive waterfalls

If we had to define some of the elements of progression or some of the most exciting points to highlight in this canyon, apart from its high technical grade and amazing scenery, are two of its rappel under waterfalls, if you are fond of photography you will be able to take some pictures where you will look like a professional. One of these rappel descents between two rocks where for a small moment we lose sight of our surroundings. It is really very exciting.

For all these reasons and everything else that we cannot explain in a few brief lines, it is one of the most coveted canyons and the mecca of canyoning in our region for fans of this sport, because to tackle it you have to have accumulated technique and experience. And if you don’t have it and want to venture into one of the greatest canyoning experiences in Andalusia, find out about our canyoning improvement courses.

Abseilings: 28, 8, 8, 5, 5, 14, 5, 4, 7, 13, 9, 8, 13, 13, 13, 11 metres (a total of 14!)

Canyoning Courses

For most of our canyoning activities you don’t need any previous experience, just a physical condition according to the level of the activity you are going to do. Our guides will explain basic progression techniques and will help you to overcome obstacles as they appear, they will secure you with the auxiliary ropes and offer you the help you need to give you security and confidence.

But if you want to enjoy the incredible experience of doing a technical canyon such as Trevelez, Poqueira canyon, or the Bermejo canyon with water flow (in Andalusia) or prepare for other level canyon in Europe (look for them in our trips), you will need more autonomy, be able to abseil without the help of auxiliary ropes, know how to perform basic manoeuvres with ropes and your descender and abseil with a lot of fluidity. You will also need to have some agility in the progression of canyon and feel comfortable in situations with greater water flow. For this reason we offer canyoning improvement courses with our canyoning technicians, which you can sign up for. In them you will not only learn all the techniques of canyoning progression but you will accumulate experience in different canyons in order to have autonomy and make your first incursions without professional help and with greater autonomy.

Our trips around Europe, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Corsica, Azores…

Every year we plan trips to the most spectacular places in Europe to practice canyoning and visit the mountains of other countries. We carefully select the best canyons in areas such as Asturias, Huesca, the French, Italian or Swiss Alps among others. They are very stimulating trips where we learn a lot and take home many treasures. Our clients go on these trips for many reasons; some for their great love of this sport and wish to discover new canyoning gems, others to improve their technique, others simply to embark on the adventure of the year or to enjoy an intense atmosphere with friends. We do it because we love this sport, we really enjoy strengthening the bonds between nature and the participants and we love living together with a team that become great friends.