Some train stations have ticket offices and coffee kiosks. The halt at Santa Linya has a platform carved into a mountainside, no buildings at all, and a rocky trail as its only link to the outside world. It sits on the Tren dels Llacs — the Lakes Train — a single-track line running 55 miles north from Lleida to La Pobla de Segur, crossing 40 tunnels and 75 bridges through the pre-Pyrenees of western Catalonia. Travellers can pick the sleek modern Tren Panoramic or the Tren Historic, a 1960s locomotive with vintage dining and mail carriages; the retro option fits the valley's mood better.

Santa Linya village is a further 3.5-mile uphill walk from the halt (190 metres of climbing), and from there a four-mile trail through oaks, almond and fig trees leads to the Mirador del Balconet. That cliff-edge viewpoint hangs 300 metres above the Collegats Gorge and the Noguera Pallaresa river — a world-class view with no road nearby, no crowds and nothing but griffon vultures for company.

The region, Pallars Jussà, rewards slow travel. The train's request stops are handy, but bikes open it up properly: a web of ancient trails links hilltop castles, chapels and abandoned farmhouses, with everything from steep climbs to easy farm tracks. Autumn stays pleasantly warm into November, ideal riding weather. The lakeside Hotel Terradets near Cellers — a century-old former muleteers' inn, now a stylish base with bike and kayak hire, a pool and a workshop for cyclists — makes a comfortable HQ beside the Embalse de Terradets, a 1935 reservoir with wild shores and, allegedly, the drowned ruins of a monastery beneath its surface.

Food is hearty Pyrenean fare: escudella pallaresa meat stew, river trout, cod glazed in Montsec honey, and crema catalana everywhere. Skip the romantic-sounding postre de músic — it's literally a saucer of nuts and raisins. There's no tapas and no Spanish menus here; this is deeply Catalan territory, with Estelada separatist flags and pro-independence graffiti on walls and bridges. Long lunches matter — the four-hour siesta catches out plenty of visitors.

The region's headline act is Mont-Rebei Canyon, west of the Terradets lake, where the Noguera Ribagorçana river cuts between 500-metre cliffs narrowed to just 20 metres apart. The gorge — the only one in the region ringed entirely by untouched wilderness — is crossed by no road, railway or power line. Kayaks hired at nearby Corçà let you paddle the three-to-four-hour round trip through the rock walls, while walkers inch along a metre-wide ledge path cut into the cliff face a century ago with dynamite and hand tools.

For anyone tired of overshot hotspots, Pallars Jussà offers a rare thing: big scenery, zero queues and a pace of life set by the river. Honeymooners, hikers and cyclists will find the rewards rich — just check train times and pack for the climb.

Thanks to The Guardian Travel for the original report.