Siurana is an astonishing and alluring territory, a medieval village, in the coastal mountain ranges of Tarragona, Catalonia. Visiting this land will not only submerge you in a fantastic voyage through geological times along beautiful canyons whose walls prove the big marine regression of the Triasic period (about 250 m fall) but also in a unique opportunity to set foot in the remains of the Castle of Siurana, the last bastion of Muslim secular power in Catalunya and if viewing some landscape and old stones is not enough to turn your day into an unforgettable experience, well, you have the exquisite wines of the Priorat region to change your mind. I advise you to visit the town of Falset, about 30 kms away from Siurana and taste D.O Montsant (check this article about Montsant wines) or D.O.Q Priorat wines.
Resuming the history of this Catalan town of the Middle Ages in the municipality of Cornudella de Montsant, the legend goes that in the xii century, when the Christians put the castle under siege in spite of the hindrance offered by natural elements, Abd-el-Azia, the Moorish queen of Siurana, scared, mounted her white stallion and ran towards the border of the cliffs to jump into the abyss. The horse panicked and the queen had to cover his eyes with both hands, not preventing the animal from coming to a sudden halt that left the imprints of horseshoes engraved in the rocks of the precipice. The fatal event took place anyway, so from then on, the place is known as El Salto de la Reina Mora (The Moorish Queen's Leap)
I will show you today some of the pictures I took during my last visit. Of course, there is nothing like the real thing. In these images you will see the canyons from a natural mirador, with no security railings, an impossible bar with a view over the valley, the winding roads that take you to the town, the river and the local church, some old alleys and some people enjoying the scenery.