Baixada dels Raiers
- When: 12th August 2018
- Where: Coll de Nargó, Spain
- Website: viulafesta.cat
Year on year, the Catalonian town of Coll de Nargó in Lleida welcomes hundreds of people who come to enjoy one of the most outstanding regional traditions: the Baixada dels Raiers.
In this celebration, which translates from the Catalan as ‘Descent of the Rafts’, the participants go down the Segre River on wooden rafts in a commemoration of trade and transport that allowed their ancestors to reach the sea from the mountains. Read on and learn all about the Baixada dels Raiers in Coll de Nargó.
Coll de Nargó, Lleida
In the region of Alt Urgell, in the province of Lleida in north-eastern Spain, is Coll de Nargó, a small town that is considered one of the richest in terms of Romanesque monuments.
This town is also well known for the conservation of its dinosaur archaeological dig site, one of the three most important ones in the world. There, you can see footprints, fossil remains (both animal and vegetable) and even real dinosaur eggs and nests!
Walking around Coll de Nargó, you can't help but notice and be awed by the church of Sant Climent, declared historically and artistically interesting. Then there is the town’s Cretaceous viewing point, an ideal place to continue see more signs of dinosaur life.
Finally, Coll Nargó also has one of the most popular festivals in the area: the Baixada dels Raiers rafting race on the Segre river.
Rolling on the river: Spanish raft race 2018
If you visit Coll de Nargó during the month of August, you will find a unique, historic event happening – the popular Baixada dels Raiers Descent of the Rafts, a celebration that aims to commemorate both the carpenter's trade and the wooden boats used to transport wood from the forests in the Pyrenees to the interior of the Catalonian territory and the coast.
Tradition and history meet on the Segre river on Sunday 12th, a day in which dozens of floating wooden boats are pushed down the river, sailed by eager amateur boatmen for about two kilometres, depending on how strong the river is flowing.
Lots of people take part in steering the boats and even more go along to cheer them on from the riverbanks. Then, everyone usually goes and finishes their day with a cool vermouth in the Platgeta where the raft race ends.
There is then a floral offering to the Dona del Raier, the local religious Virgin icon like the lady of the lake, and a meal in the main town square. The kids will also have a chance to celebrate and have fun with the various family-friendly games and activities designed for children and adults.
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