Arrival by Rack Railway

Hotel Vall de Núria

Estació de Muntanya Vall de Núria, 17534 Queralbs (Spain) Tel.: +34 972 732 000

The conference venue is only accesible by:

Rack railway from Queralbs or Ribes de Freser link pdf . Two-way ticket fare 27€ from Queralbs or 30€ from Ribes. See below the schedule for Tuesday 24/5 and Friday 27/5..
7.4 km uphill hike from Queralbs link track. Elevation gain: 900m. See comments below.

For your travel arrangements, please note that according to last season's timetable, the last rack railway train up to Núria will be at 16.25 or 16.31 from Ribes, or 16.47 from Queralbs pdf. If you miss that train, there is no practical option to get to the venue before the next day.

Your can park your car at Queralbs or Ribes and then take the rack train to Núria. However, if you are interested in attending the guided visits to Queralbs village and Ripoll Monastery on Friday (see Social Events), you need to have your car at Queralbs, so please leave it at Queralbs station parking place on Tuesday, and then take the rack train from Queralbs to Núria. Last train is at 16.47.

Rack railway tickets reservation

The official train schedule for May is shown below.

You can reserve the tickets through the hotel (reserveshotel@valldenuria.cat). This is necessary just in case tickets are sold out in the last moment. Please inform the hotel (reserveshotel@valldenuria.cat) and us (eiec2022@event.upc.edu) about the date and time of the trips and the departure station.

Recommended schedule pdf:

- For those traveling by car:
  Tuesday 24: Queralbs - Núria at 16.47 (or 14.57 if possible)
  Friday 27: Núria - Queralbs at 10.20
- For those traveling by train:
  Tuesday 24: Ribes Enllaç - Núria at 16.25 (or 14.35 if possible)
  Friday 27: Núria - Queralbs at 10.20 and arrange the trip from Queralbs to Ripoll with somebody else having a car

Additionally, the hotel will provide a Resident Card ("tarjeta de residente") that will grant unlimited extra rack railway trips (apart from the arrival and departure trips) and unlimited cableway trips to Pic de l'Àliga.

Arrival to Queralbs

Queralbs is accessible from Ribes de Freser by:

Rack railway link (Queralbs is the middle station between Ribes and Vall de Núria)
Small road: 7 km (12 min) link

Please be aware that the road from Ribes to Queralbs is narrow and twisty, and the trip by car may be slower than by train.

Hiking up to Vall de Núria:

The route Queralbs - Vall de Núria link track starts in Queralbs, so you have to go there by car. If you go by train to Ripoll or Ribes, then you have to hire a taxi to take you up to Queralbs.

Once in Queralbs, it is 7.4km with 900m of positive height gain, so you have to be used to hiking in the mountains with a backpack and in good fitness. It make take about 4h, depending on your fitness.

Although possibly the route is well signposted, it is essential to take a GPS (or mobile phone with offline maps) in case there is a sudden change of weather and in no time a fog rises that leaves you without visibility (this is not rare at Vall de Núria). A torch is also necessary in case it gets dark before you reach the hotel.

Although this trail is of moderate difficulty and you do not need any special equipment, wear the appropriate clothes and hiking shoes. The ground will be very slippery if there is some mud or ice (and there will very possibly be by the end of May).

You have to be very aware of the weather forecast and use the rack railway if bad or changeable weather is expected.

Keep in mind that it will be quite cold at night (the average minimum temperature in May is 2º), and it will be very dangerous if you get lost or delayed for any reason. Take enough warm clothes and a water-proof jacket.

Page updated

Report abuse