Discover
Fallas
The “fallas” break records in terms of participation and audience every year and more and more tourists are added to this Ribagorça festival of remote origins. The fallaires experience an unforgettable sensation between the ringing of the bells of each town and the cries of encouragement that turn this festival into a collective liturgy, which always ends with a festival around the bonfires.
Fire has been from ancient times and almost to the present day an element of great importance for the daily life of man. This tradition is a survival of the cult of purifying fire. This fire, lit at the top of the mountain, is the one that goes down to the village with the fallas and walks through it, in order to purify the evil spirits of each and every one of the places in the village.
In Alta Ribagorça there are three types of fallas: the rentiners, which are made of a single piece; the falles de pal, the most common, throughout the region, which are made with pieces of pine cloth and are attached to an ash stick with wires and points and the falles of Vilaller, which are a large inverted pyramid tied with wire and filled with cloth.
CALENDAR 2026
June
12. Durro
20. Sec.
23. El Pont de Suert, Vilaller, Casós, Boí
July
4. Barruera
11.Erill the valley
17. Tile
24. Pla de l’Ermita
25. Llesp
Information
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General information:
On December 1, 2015, UNESCO announced the inclusion in this prestigious international list of the candidacy of the Fire Festival of the summer solstice in the Pyrenees as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.It must be said that Alta Ribagorça is the region that has the most Fallas villages in the Catalan territory. The descent of Fallas has been a deep-rooted tradition in the villages of Alta Ribagorça since ancient times. The fallas are resinous trunks about two meters long, which are prepared a few days in advance so that they are ready on the day of the descent. The descent of the Fallas begins from a high place on the mountain, visible from the village, where a pine tree called “faro” has been planted, which is where the Fallas are lit before the descent begins. The descent from the mountain is made with a line of fire led by a fadrí major or leader of the group who guides the fallaires to the town square where they are received with music and the sound of bells. With the half-consumed falles, a large bonfire is made and the party begins.
