the Arribes del Duero·Spain
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Wikimedia Commons
The Duero carves a deep granite gorge along the frontier, its dammed reaches wide and calm under cliffs thick with griffon vultures. It is a little-known, big-scenery paddle.
In season: Apr–Oct · Peak: May–Jun, Sep
Easy flatwater on the reservoired river, with heat and distance the only real demands; boat trips run the same gorges if you would rather not paddle. Vultures wheel overhead all day.
Where the Tormes meets the Duero, the sheltered short paddle
Under 400-metre granite walls on the Portuguese border
The long open reach with vulture colonies overhead
Base in Aldeadávila or Fermoselle and rent or join a guided paddle on the reservoir. Go outside high summer to dodge the worst heat.
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