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Maestrazgo - El Cid
Country |
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Aragon/Teruel |
The Area
Delight in walking through
the remote landscape of the Maestrazgo region, which has been designated
a cultural park, with its mix of magnificent and varied landscapes and
places of cultural interest. It straddles the regions of Teruel and
Aragon in Northeast Spain. There are numerous villages founded by the
Knights Templar of El Cid as defensive strongholds often perched on
rocky crags by deep ravines. Castles dating back to this era and those
from later conflicts litter the countryside. All these are set in a
wild, mountainous landscape of strong contrasts; peaks and
ravines, rivers and moorlands. There are oak and pine forests
interspersed with fields where farmers eke out a living as their
ancestors have done for generations.
The Walking
The route often follows the long distance GR-8 path. You will walk on
footpaths and drovers routes used for generations by villagers and
farmers. The paths are of good quality but rough underfoot in places. A
walking day would normally be between 4 to 7 hours long. Altitude gain
is between 300 to
780 m. You have two nights in one place towards the end, which you can
take as a rest day or we provide details of walking options on that day
if you prefer to keep the legs going. There are no vertiginous sections.
Self Guided 
Available all year around.
However, we would not recommend July and August due to the high summer
temperatures. You can walk entirely at your own pace and we provide
extensive walking notes giving distances, route directions, ascents,
descents and walking times. If you wish to lengthen the holiday we can
easily add rest days when you make the booking.
The Route
We have a dossier with full details on request.
The route
Day 1 Transfer from the airport to your first accommodation in Molinos.
Explore its gothic square and church (15th century). Visit the “Grutas
de Cristal” (crystal caverns), one of the most famous underground
landscapes in Spain.
Day 2 Transfer to Montoro de Mezquita.in transition between the low and
the high Maestrazgo: The lonely hillsides are covered densely with
thyme, rosemary, lavender, and mixed forests of pine and oak. Walk
through the ravine of the river Guadalopillo to Ejulve village, with its
old flour mills now in ruins. Continue past a huge geological rock
structure with the shape of church organs.12 miles 51/2 hrs Ascent 633m
Descent 250m.
Day 3 The walk starts on the pilgrimage route to the Hermitage of San
Pedro de la Roqueta, an ascent the local villagers committed to make
after receiving rain following 7 years of drought. You cross mountain
ranges running parallel with each other and intersected with little
valleys and streams, with short but steep ascents and descents. You will
feel engulfed by the solitude. 7 miles 4 hrs Ascent 541m Descent 340m.
Day 4 You start on a path along a shady gully to the source of the river
Pitarque. Maples, walnuts, hazel trees constitute one of the best
Mediterranean river bank forests of the area. On the journey you will
pass a small hydro electric power station with its defenses built
against the attacks of the Maquis - resistance against Franco which
fought from 1949 to1954. 10 miles/5,45 hrs. Ascent 787m Descent 223m.
Day 5 Today you visit the High Maestrazgo with an altitude of 1700m. The
landscape is dappled with pine forest and alpine grass and is the area
with the most historical buildings in the district, six municipalities
having been declared of historicalartistic interest. These lovely towns
of significant medieval architecture truly warrant their classification.
11 miles/ 5,5 hrs. Ascent 467m Descent 590m.
Day 6 Free day at Cantavieja. You could take a short walk below the
village where you can
fully understand the defensive capability of the settlement 4 miles/2
hrs Ascent Descent 219m. or take a longer walk after a short taxi ride
(payable locally) to one of El Cid’s castles.
Day 7 Your route today will encounter little or no woods or forests as
they were felled in the XVI century to provide more pasture for sheep
when the area was thriving economically from wool.
 Your
destination is Mirambel, a village full of beautiful, medieval stone
buildings, decorated with bold wooden eaves which has often been used as
a film set. 9 miles/43/4 hrs. Ascent 440m Descent 828m.
Day 8 Return home, either transfer back to your car or directly to
the airport.
The hotels and food
Our
accommodation has been especially chosen to give you an authentic
experience of the real rural Spain. All are government registered and
are located in villages except for one in a small town. They are a
mixture of small rural hotels and Casas Rurales which are interesting
old buildings converted for tourist accommodation. Dinner is included
every night (wine also!) in the hotel or at a local restaurant. All
rooms feature a bath or shower, and W.C.
Baggage transfer
Your bag will be
transferred daily to your next hotel so that you can enjoy the walking
with just a day pack.
How to get there
Zaragoza is the nearest
airport which can be reached nonstop from London with low cost airlines.
Transfer time is 13/4 hours. Or travel to Reus which has charter and low
cost flights from a large number of UK airports. Transfer 21/4 hours.
Further away is Barcelona with an excellent selection of flights a more
distant 4hour drive away. We include in the price the transfer from
Zaragoza or a hire car from Reus or Barcelona, minimum 2 people.
Supplement payable for transfers from Reus or Barcelona.
When to go
Close proximity to the sea means a mild climate ideal for autumn, winter and
spring walking. The temperatures do rise greatly in July and August and
we do not recommend holidays during these months.
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