Chorrador de Otonel

The Chorrador de Otonel is the 60-metre cascade of an aquatic canyon near Cortes de Pallás, and one of the benchmark descents of Valencian canyoning. Otonel itself is a hamlet of Cortes de Pallás, now uninhabited but once an important village, and its chorradores, slides and travertine cascades line the descent. This is not a viewpoint: the waterfall is reached only by abseiling the ravine.

The descent

The canyoning guides grade it V5 A2 II, with a longest rappel of 60 metres.. The ravine runs mostly open through limestone tuffs and travertines, with cascades draped in moss and lichen, and after heavy rain the first rappel carries water and the pothole fills. Access leaves the CV-580 up a mountain track toward Otonel, with the exit car near the Cavera bridge., with the exit car near the Cavera bridge. The 60-metre pitch is the only section with no escape and the only one that turns complicated in high flow.

Safety

• Technical descent only: full canyoning kit, wetsuit, and experience with long rappels are required.
• Check the flow before entering and never descend after storms or with a rising river.
• Go with equipped groups and leave a second car at the exit; the return is not a walking path.
• Pair the trip with the Júcar canyons or the Cortes reservoir, in the same municipality.