Monegros Desert Festival

Known throughout the country as "the biggest rave in Spain", the legendary Monegros Desert Festival is an essential date in the diary for any clubbers heading in this direction come July.

What started as a crazy party in the mid-1990s has grown and grown, and now, for one long hot summer night every year, 40,000+ people go wild from dusk 'til dawn in a patch of desert just outside Fraga, Spain.

In previous editions the likes of Pendulum, 2ManyDJs, Laurent Garnier, Tiga, Caspa, Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, Digitalism and many many more world class dance acts have descended on Fraga to rock the beats; whilst clubbers from Madrid and Barcelona, as well as the local area, arrive by the coach-load to dance until their feet hurt. Typically the party lasts from late afternoon right through to early afternoon the next day!

Monegros Festival 2012

The date for your diary in 2012 is the 21st July, and this year will see the legendary British dance act The Prodigy headline, along with US rap-stars the Wu Tang Clan and top DJing/electro talent in the form of Richie Hawtin, 2manydjs, Loco Dice, The Bloody Beetroots and many more. Tickets are available from 70 euros and include a free drink and merchandising gift. Hit up the official festival website for more info on how and where to purchase your tickets!

Monegros Festival 2011

The 17th edition of the desert dance-up takes place on the 23rd July in 2011 and will feature over 20 hours of non-stop music, alternating between electro, techno, hip hop, drum & bass & dubstep. The headliners will be Boys Noise, Luciano, Paul Kalkbrenner, Vitalic, Steve Aoki and Dirtyphonics. Early bird tickets are available from 60 euros and include a free drink and merchandising gift. Go to the official website for more info on how/where to buy your tickets!

Getting to Monegros From Barcelona

Fraga is en route from Barcelona to Madrid, inland, and near the major Catalan city of Lleida. The easiest way to get there is using the festival's official Monegros bus service. You can check their website for more info, but in 2011 one bus leaves where Reina Maria Cristina Avenue meets Rius i Taulet Avenue (just by the Magic Fountain) at 14:00 on the 23rd July itself, whilst two buses also leave from Terminal 1 of El Prat Airport, the first at 13:00 and the second at 17:00. Tickets cost 30 euros and return at the end of the festival.

Other options would be to take the train to Lleida and catch the Monegros bus from there (the festival has buses running from Madrid, Bilbao, Zaragoza too!), or to hire a car and follow the directions on their website. Get more info and keep up to date with developments via the Monegros Facebook page.