The Vallvidrera reservoir

Hidden away in the Collserola woods, north of Barcelona, lies the Vallvidrera reservoir, opened in 1864 to supply water to what was then the separate town of Sarrià through the Mina Grott (you can see the entrance to the mine a few metres before you reach the reservoir, on the left). In 1908 a little electric train was installed in this mine; it was the first electric passenger railway built in Spain, and it ran until 1916.

The reservoir is considered a gem of 19th-century hydraulic engineering. These days, left to nature, it’s covered in lush vegetation, with all kinds of plant species identified by little signs, and surrounded by croaking frogs, each one louder than the last! Could there be a prince among them? 😉

There are several ways to get to the dam, but the easiest is to take the Ferrocarrils trains towards Terrassa or Sabadell and get off at Baixador de Vallvidrera (careful: check that your train stops at every station). Once there, you’ll already be breathing in the smell of the forest!! 🙂

Go down the steps and cross the road, taking the ‘Camí del Pantà’ on the left; carry straight on to the next fork, where you turn right (there’s a sign saying ‘torrent del rovelló’), and keep straight on along that path until you reach the reservoir.

You can walk all the way round the reservoir and go back the way you came.

May the fairies be with you!