The Route of the Magic Corners of Teruel

Alcañiz local_hotel

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The village is described by many as the Spanish Monaco, because its roads were pioneers for 20 years among the circuits where the best drivers fought for victory, and because its spirit lives on today thanks to the Motorland Circuit.

The place is not only the capital of the Bajo Aragón region, but also a pretty city full of surprises for the traveller. The two most important monuments are without doubt the Plaza Mayor with the Town Hall, the Lonja and the former Collegiate Church Santa María, and also the magnificent architectural, monumental and medieval picturesque ensemble that now houses the Parador de Turismo, the Castle of the Calatrava Order. The medieval corridors, accessible from the tourist office, are also highly recommended. Pleasant places to enjoy the regional cuisine or simply a cup of coffee allow the traveller to enjoy an unforgettable stay.

Alcañiz is part of the Route of the Snare and Bass Drum in the Bajo Aragón region, and the festival has been declared of International Tourist Interest.

Calanda local_hotel

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Calanda was the birthplace of the great film director Luis Buñuel and his films reveal the character of the city: the sound of snare and bass drums, a sound that has made both Calanda and Don Luis universally known. So the visitor should not miss the amazing Centro Buñuel Calanda, which recreates the director’s surrealistic universe and leaves the visitor with an indelible memory.

A stroll through the streets of the town will allow you to discover the corners that inspired some of the film scenes, and the guest will discover Renaissance-style buildings such as Casa de la Villa, whose lateral façade is decorated with Rococo paintings from 1704. In Calanda the guest can also visit a nevera, which is part of the Route of the Vaults of Cold.

Calanda is part of the Route of the Snare and Bass Drum in the Bajo Aragón region, and the festival has been declared of International Tourist Interest.

Mas de las Matas local_hotel

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The church tower of Mas de las Matas can be seen many kilometres away before reaching the town. The steeple is one of the highest in the province. The tower invites you from afar to stop and stroll along its streets and squares to visit the parish church or the magnificent Town Hall.  But perhaps it is most surprising to be carried away by the sound of the water that flows completely through the old town in the form of fountains, washbasins and irrigation ditches scattered through the streets of the town.

In addition, a visit to a centre linked to Dinópolis has been possible since 2006. The ground floor of the old flour factory or Casa Feliu has been prepared for use as a paleontological exhibition, and there are also fossils from the paleontological collection of the Grupo de Estudios Masinos. The title of this exhibition is “Water, Time and Earth” and its main theme is how the fossils and the rocks they contain allow us to interpret the various and profound geological changes in the region during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Aguaviva local_hotel

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In this village we can visit the old urban centre, where the pretty Plaza de España is particularly worth mentioning. It is a square with porticoes and two floors connected by a staircase.

In Aguaviva, you are also recommended to enjoy the extraordinary natural environment. Very close to the village, only four kilometres away in the direction of Morella, we find one of those corners that the traveller will never forget: the surroundings of the Puente de Cananillas bridge, built in the Middle Ages, to cross the Bergantes river. Today, the round pebbles that have been eroded over the centuries and the pine groves that surround them make up one of the most attractive natural swimming pools in the province.

In the village itself we find another nevera of the “Route of the Vault of Cold“. If the traveller is lucky enough to visit the city on the 28th of August, he or she can finally take part in the Feast of Santísimo Misterio (Holy Mystery), which fills its streets with striking and colourful sawdust carpets, which have been declared a Festival of Aragonese Tourist Interest and constitute a magnificent example of ephemeral art.

Castellote local_hotel

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The village has been declared a Historical Complex. It is located at the foot of a high mountain range in a rugged and picturesque landscape. The village is protected by these rocks, on which the emblematic castle is enthroned. It is a castle of the Templar Order. The castle was occupied in the 19th century by the Carlistas (the traditionalists who defended the right to the throne of Carlos María Isidro of Bourbon), who defended the castle until it was surrendered to the army of General Espartero.

Near the castle are the remains of the most representative aqueduct of the province. The town is dominated by the Gothic church of San Miguel Arcángel, located within the first wall of the town, which can be accessed via the Town Hall Exchange or another small gate in the wall. The latter is opposite the Virgen del Agua church (1718), which was used as a parish church in the post-war period. Next to this temple are several mansions and the old prison known as the Torreón (tower). The urban complex is rounded off with another portal, in this case the enclosure of the second wall, several mansions from the Modern Era and the fountain, with interesting reused sculptures. Also noteworthy is the Llovedor Hermitage, located in a spectacular spot near the village.

Santolea Reservoir

The Santolea Reservoir is located less than 2 km south of Castellote next to the road towards Bordón. Its waters flood what were once the fertile fields of the small village of Santolea, which gave its name to the reservoir. The construction of the reservoir began in 1927, and as early as in 1932 the water was dammed. The reservoir can be reached by car as far as the top of the dam, crossed by the old road from Castellote to Bordón, taking the turnoff for Ladruñán and the campsite at the Castellote exit.

The reservoir is mainly reserved for irrigation purposes, but in summer it is used for recreational activities such as canoeing, paddling, skating, sailing with other small boats, fishing and swimming.

In the surroundings of the reservoir, on the shore of the country road that surrounds the reservoir, there are several lookout points that allow us to observe the beauty of this large mass of water, surrounded by elegant limestone rocks and pine forests. The trout is the most numerous of the fish species that populate the reservoir.

Las Cuevas de Cañart local_hotel

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In this small village with a historical centre we discover a rich heritage that contrasts with the size of the village, with a population of only 40. The village is surrounded on one side by numerous fields and on the other by the Poyos Hermitage, which towers over the village like a guard. While strolling through the village we find two monasteries: that of the Servite monks and that of the Conceptionist nuns, which determine the character of the place. But there are also other monuments that do not leave the visitor indifferent: the San Pedro Apóstol church, the San Blas and Los Poyos hermitages, the Portal de Marzo gate, the old oven or houses like Casa Arellano and Casa Moliner. In the surroundings, the San Juan waterfall and the peculiar tombs carved into the rock, as well as the surroundings of the Estrecho, are worth mentioning.

Molinos and the Grutas de Cristal – Cavern local_hotel

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Molinos is located at the foot of Poyo Ambasagua, the place where the old Calatrava fortress was built and where today the bell tower or clock tower, the Soledad hermitage and a small portal connected to the old fortress are located. At the entrance to the village, one can only be surprised by the Salto de Altaoya Cascade, which can only be crossed thanks to a beautiful brick bridge between two cliffs.

The monumental town centre revolves around two beautiful squares with porticoes and adjacent squares: the Plaza Mayor and the Town Hall Square, which is the site of the Nuestra Señora de las Nieves church, one of the most unique of the 15th century in Teruel. The Town Hall, attached to an old tower, houses the “Sala de Eleuterio Blasco Ferrer” (where paintings, sculptures and drawings by this artist Molinos are exhibited). In its streets, one can also find the Portal de San Roque, the San Nicolás Hermitage from the 18th century and several mansions.

The Museum of the Molinos Cultural Park Interpretation Centre houses the oldest hominid fossil found in Aragón: the pine of a primitive representative of Homo Sapiens, known as “El hombre de Molinos”.

The most famous monument of Molinos is undoubtedly the Grutas de Cristal (Crystal Caves) natural monument, a precious jewel created by nature underground. It is made up of two main cavities connected to each other and to the outside by channels and passages that bridge a total unevenness of about 12 metres. Above this is the Sala de Cristal (Crystal Room) with precious formations of stalactites, stalagmites, eccentric columns, casts and flags. Further down is the Sala Marina, where calcite crystallisations with a coral-like appearance form a unique underwater decoration.

The caves are internal karst forms excavated by the slow dissolution of limestone by groundwater. Later, the opposite effect, i.e. the recrystallization of dissolved calcium carbonate, leads to the formation of new calcite masses in the form of stalactites and stalagmites.

Ejulve local_hotel

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In the middle of the transition to the Maestrazgo Mountains, Ejulve lies on a hill at the foot of the Sierra Majalinos near the Guadalopillo River. The town is characterized by a paradisiacal nature: steep slopes and rocky cliffs, underground landscapes with caves and ravines, numerous fountains or imposing monumental trees that overlook the town.

The winding streets lead up and down the slope crowned by the Santa María la Mayor church. The building was built in the 16th century in the transition from Gothic to Renaissance. Another emblematic building is the Town Hall, a beautiful 16th-century building supported by a four-arched gallery. There are also good examples of folk architecture and sober and elegant town houses such as the Casa Felicitas House, the Old Hospital or the Old Posada de la Plaza Hostel.

The area known as “Masías de Ejulve” in the south of the municipality, allows you to get to know the scattered habitat of the farmhouses in Teruel and to gain access to a valuable natural, cultural and historical heritage via ancient, perfectly signposted paths.

Thanks to the beauty of the village, its natural surroundings and, above all, its characteristic farmhouses, Ejulve is one of the municipalities that are part of the Maestrazgo Cultural Park.

Aliaga local_hotel

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The name Aliaga derives from the Arabic Alulgha (twisted valley). In 1163, King Alphonse II reconquered Aliaga Square, which was handed over to the Military Order of John the Baptist, who established their Encomienda (labour unit) here in 1180. The place was also important for the Carlists (the traditionalists who stood up for the throne right of Carlos María Isidro of Bourbon) and in approximately 1838 General Cabrera rebuilt his 12th-century Moorish castle.

In Aliaga, the standout is the Geological Park, a natural area that is also a vantage point from which the last 200 million years of the history of our planet can be seen. Some of its magnificent formations and geological structures, which form spectacular reliefs, are considered by scientists to be almost unique examples in the world.

Other attractions include the Santa Barbara Mining Interpretation Centre, the Virgen de la Zarza Sanctuary, the La Clara and La Tamborera Waterfalls, and the Hoz Mala, Boca del Infierno and Estrechos de Valloré Gorges on the Guadalope River.

Hinojosa de Jarque local_hotel

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Hinojosa is located south of the Sierra de San Just mountains and north of the La Val River.

The most unique building in Hinojosa is the Pilar hermitage near the village, which has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. The parish church was rebuilt in 1960, but preserves the elements of its predecessor. The Santo Domingo de Guzmán and Beato hermitages complete the sacred architecture of the village. The Town Hall has the peculiarity of an “L” arrangement, but it otherwise follows the characteristic Lonja-Trinquete and floor arrangement. The civil architecture contains very large houses, some of them with stately proportions, with coats of arms. The village of Cobatillas, a small town with an interesting folk architecture, is attached to Hinojosa.

In the surrounding area, the Sculptures Park, an open-air set of works of many artists, is particularly noteworthy. The ensemble of these sculptures expresses the culture of the people, their thoughts and feelings, their traditions and customs.

Very near Hinojosa, the town of Cuevas de Almudén is located on the banks of the El Caño River and the river walk of the same name.

The Escucha Mining Museum restaurant

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Escucha lies at the foot of the Sierra de San Just, an anticlinal complex built on the base of the Lower Cretaceous, which contains important lignite deposits. The population of the municipality grew in the 1960s and 1970s with the construction of a thermal power plant in 1970, which ceased operations in 2012.

Mining has been the most important economic factor of the village since the 18th century, leaving its mark on the history, landscape, heritage and the character of its people.

The recovery of this mining heritage allows us to discover places like the Museo Minero de Escucha, where you can feel like a real miner in a theme park designed as a leisure alternative for the whole family. In the museum there is a mining adventure, in a real mine that is more than 200 metres below the surface (and the only one in Spain where visitors can enter a real coal mine).

A visit to the Pozo Pilar Mining Interpretation Centre, about 5 minutes from the Mining Museum, takes us to the storage, office, sanitary, laboratory, hospital and other rooms and facilities of the old mining company Minas y Ferrocarril de Utrillas (MFU), as well as the 52-metre-high lower section of the mining scaffolding.

Utrillas local_hotel

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Mining has been essential for this village. Utrillas was already mined in the 11th century for raw materials such as gagat (or pitch coal) and, starting in the 18th century, coal mining began in large quantities.

The mining heritage can be seen in the Mining Theme Park, in the Pozo Santa Bárbara Mine; it shows the old, reconstructed installations, such as the pit frame, the furnaces, the machine room and the rooms where the tools were repaired and the showers. The old schools for the miners’ children, an exhibition of mining equipment and an exhibition of the most important paleontological finds from Utrillas are also on display.

The Utrillas Miners’ Railway is a historic tourist railway that follows part of the old mining line that crossed this town in the province of Teruel from 1904 to 1969.

The Visitor Centre for Mining Science and Archaeology is located in the former M.F.U. Hospital and is a must for mining and railway enthusiasts.

Near Utrillas, from the town of Las Parras de Martín, there is a wonderful excursion along the path that connected Las Parras de Martín with Martín del Río: the Hocino del Pajazo Route (PR-TE 41). This route goes from Las Parras to the two gorges formed by the Palma River. Another possibility is to visit these gorges from Martín del Río, following the road that leads to the Embalse de las Parras reservoir up to its end. From here a path leads to the Cascada del Pajazo waterfall. The first option is a little longer, the second a little shorter.

During the walk you will experience one of the most spectacular natural landscapes of the region: the Las Palomas waterfall and cave, the Pajazo waterfall and an interesting folk architecture in the village of El Pajazo.

Montalbán local_hotel

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The village lies on the banks of the Martín River, on the northern slope of the Sierra de San Just Mountains. The village centre lies at the foot of the Albano mountain. On the top of this mountain there used to be a large complex of buildings with a castle and a monastery, which were destroyed in the First Carlist War.  But the impressive church, built on the slope of this mountain as an extension of the monastery, has survived until our days.  The impressive Santiago Temple, which has the character of a fortress, is a beautiful building in the Gothic Mudéjar style, declared a Historical Monument. Made of ashlar stone and Mudéjar brick, it impresses for its great dimensions.

The most outstanding features of the exterior are the buttresses that rise above the roof of the chapels: they are prismatic in the nave and octagonal in the head and decorated with bricks and green ceramics that reproduce crosses of the Santiago Order. .

The village is one of the places in the Martin River Cultural Park, and a privileged enclave for astronomical observation, because it has an Astronomical Planetarium Observatory. The Geology and Cave Research Interpretation Centre complements the information on the geological sites in the town.

Peñarroyas local_hotel

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Peñarroyas is a hamlet of Montalbán on the left bank of the Martín River. This beautiful place is known by this name because of the reddish colour of the steep rocks that make up the red sandstone formations of mottled sandstone at the foot of which Peñarroyas grew. There are buildings characterised by the presence of rodeno blocks and an abundance of solar vantage points in the heights, which means that the whole city is integrated into the landscape.

The village is part of the Martin River Cultural Park, where elements from different eras can be found, with prehistoric finds such as the Pozos Boyetes engravings.

On the square we find the two most outstanding buildings: the old Town Hall and the Santa María la Mayor Church. On the first floor of the Town Hall, the old town Schools from the 1940s and 1950s has been restored.

Peñarroyas has geomorphological, scenic and natural features of great interest, with several itineraries for hikers, the GR-262 tourist route and several points of geological interest standing out.

Segura de Baños local_hotel

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Segura de Baños is located south of the Muela de Anadón, in the headwaters of the Aguas Vivas river. The village is situated between two hills, on whose slopes the small village is to be found, and offers a strange view. Segura still preserves its medieval structure, its mud houses – some of them whitewashed – with Rodeno tiles. The church of San Juan Bautista, the washing place and the hermitage of the Virgen del Pilar also stand out in the city centre.

The history of Segura is linked to water thanks to the thermal baths of Baños de Segura. Located 5 km from the municipality, this thermal spa is located in a picturesque place near the river spring. The water from the springs rises in the gorge in the middle of a spectacular natural landscape. This mineral medicinal water was already used in the 18th century. The thermal bath closed its doors in 1983, to be reopened in 2017 and converted into a luxurious accommodation. An oasis of peace and quiet in peerless facilities.

The picturesque corners and with beautiful and impressive panoramic views that we can highlight are: La Planilla, Las Coronas en la Muela de Segura, Peñadelgada (a monocline vertical structure in which the layers of limestone in the form of needles suggest a similarity with the Organs of Montoro in the same mountains).

Olalla local_hotel

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The village is located right in the middle of nature, at the foot of the Sierra de Pelarda mountains, among vast juniper, oak and pine forests. Olalla has one of the best preserved juniper forests in Aragon, with several hundred-year-old specimens.

The former parish church was built on a small hill that dominates the city. It seems that the old temple was abandoned when the present one was built in the lower part of the town in the 18th century. Today, what remains is only the tower of this old church, one of the most outstanding examples of a 16th century Mudéjar tower, distinguished by the beauty of its decoration. It consists of a first square and four octagonal bodies. The exterior decoration is remarkable for the upper part of the square lower body and the first octagonal body, which has blind fabrics decorated with an abundance of diamonds of great plasticity. The tower has been declared a Historical-Artistic Monument, an Asset of Cultural Interest and is included in the Mudéjar of Aragon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.)