The Ports of Tortosa-Beseit

The Ports of Tortosa-Beseit is a rugged mountain range that is the natural extension of the Maestrat range of Castellón and Teruel. There are eleven municipalities within its 800 square kilometres. Mont Caro (1441 metres) is the highest peak in the range and also in Tarragona province. On days when the sky is cleared by the mistral winds you can see as far as the Pyrenees to the north and the Balearic Islands to the east. In winter, an occasional snowfall clothes it in white.

From the villages of Horta de Sant Joan to La Pobla de Benifassà and from Beseit to Tortosa, the Ports, with its wild, solitary landscapes, large tracts of forest, and a rich and varied flora and fauna, is one of the most interesting Mediterranean mountain ranges on the Iberian Peninsula. A particularly important species is the wild mountain goat, the symbol of the Ports and the reason it has been declared a national hunting reserve. There are birds such as the vulture, the golden eagle, Bonelli's eagle, the nocturnal eagle owl and many species of forest birds. Mammals include the elusive wild cat, the squirrel, the otter, and the river crab, which can still be found secreted in the crystalline waters of rivers such as the Ulldemó, the Algars and the Matarranya, that are also home to various species of fish. It is a land of Scotch pine and red pine, as well as of oak and holm oak groves, but what really stands out is the most southerly beech wood in Catalonia.

All these forests, and the highest areas which are subject to high winds and consequently more barren of vegetation, also have many species of rare and endemic plants. On the cliffs and in the canyons there are waterfalls with names such as El Barber, La Cantavella, Els Ullals and La Caramella. There are also deep gulleys and gorges, and many hiding places in valleys and caves - quirks of a wild and surprising landscape. In the mountains of Els Ports we can still enjoy nature in its purest state. Naked rounded and polished rocks and its hidden corners are still preserved from the human presence.