
Day Trip Rucksack
Small 10L day trip and museums rucksack
The Tarragona Roman aquaduct, known as acueducto de Ferreres or Pont del Diable is a 249 metres long aquaduct that crosses the Barranc del Diable river valley with a maximum height of 27 metres. The Tarraco aquaduct can be found three kilometres outside of the centre of Tarragona in Parque Ecohistórico del Puente del Diablo.
The Pont del Diable (Devil's Bridge), is only a fragment of a much longer conduit used to supply Tarraco with water from the Francolí River. The water was taken from the Rourell area, 92 metres above sea level, and carried water more than ten kilometres through a network of conduits and aqueducts of varying sizes.
The portion of this conduit called Les Ferreres aqueduct is comprised of 25 arches sitting on a lower tier of 11 arches, each with a span of 5.90 metres. The structure was built in the 1st century A.D. from large square-cut stones stacked without mortar to form the two tiers of arches.
Les Ferreres aqueduct is one of two aquaducts that supplied Tarraco with water. The other route took water from the Gaià river with a substantial roman ruin of Aqüeducte de la font del Llorito which is not realy visitable and in a state of disrepeair.
Once water from these two feeds reached Tarraco. it was deposited in distribution tanks located in the Roman city. The floor of the water channel had to be waterproofed with a characteristic mortar (opus signinum) that prevented loss of water. The water conduit was originally covered.
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The top of the viaduct has a path that you can walk along and enjoy the views.
The viaduct is in a park that is open 24x7 and free entry. I recommend visiting it during daylight hours or at susnet.
Within the park is a cafe/restaurant called El Restaurant de la Casa del Guarda that serves snacks and drinks.
Access to the viaduct is via a gravel path in a woodland park so I would advise taking a bottle of water. Although step free it does require a little walking to reach.
There is a cafeteria inside the Roman Aqueduct park.
Small 10L day trip and museums rucksack
Lightweight convertible trousers that zip down to shorts
Light weight cotton quick dry T-shirt
Lightweight comfortable trail shoes
Ankle spring/summer socks
Light weight warm fleece
Small folded lightweight Water proof poncho for emergencies
Reusable, refillable 1L water bottle.
Address: Barranc del Diable S/N, Tarragona. 43003
The Renfe REGIONAL R14, R15, R16 & R17 lines all go to Tarragona city centre from Barcelona-Estació de França, Barcelona-Passeig de Gràcia and Barcelona-Sants.
Note: Do not use any high speed AVE. AVLo, Ouigo or Iryo trains because these all go to Camp de Tarragona which is a new station built 15Km outside of the centre of Tarragona.
The viaduct is located in a park about 10 minutes outside of Tarragona city via bus or taxi. From the Roman wall, walk to Plaza Imperial Tarraco. From here get a number 5 bus to Pont del Diable bus stop. Busses every half an hour. Consult Movit Bus app.
Another option would be to get a taxi. It is better to get a taxi back to Tarragona from the park because the return bus stop is a bit of a walk.
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A city walk in Tarragona that covers the main Roman Museums that are part of the MHT (Museo Historico de Tarragona).
Distance: 8.27 Km
Difficulty: Moderate
Return Travel Fare: 21.00 EUR
Transport Network: Renfe Regional