Catalunya is said to be responsible for the invention of the cork, and for packaging wine in bottles, but the town of Valls, thirty miles to the east of Priorat, is famed as the birthplace of "castells." Castells are complex human pyramids that are constructed every year in Valls and other towns nearby as part of their fiestas, and are fascinating examples of tradition, co-operation and futility. They consist of up to nine levels of people standing on one another’s shoulders and heads, and are assembled in time to the music of gralles, which resemble clarinets.

The bases of the pyramids are surrounded by a close press of hundreds of cheering people, and they are topped by an anxanet—a young boy who waves a Catalan flag. Castell building takes place in Valls, El Vendrell, and Vilafranca throughout the summer, and there are competitions held for the most artistic tower of bodies in Tarragona, the principal city of the region, to which travellers are advised to pay a visit once they have been refreshed by the pure air and dramatic landscapes of Priorat.