Spain is a paradise for hikers. With iconic routes such as the Camino de Santiago, which meanders through a range of landscapes across a thousand kilometres, or hundreds of stunning trails like the Garganta de los Infiernos route in the Jerte Valley or the Cares Path in the Picos de Europa, Asturias. Yet there is a route you’ve probably never heard of, and it can only be described as incomparable.
Teruel’s flagship route
I’m talking about the Barranco de la Hoz route, which envelops you from the very first step. It begins in a tiny Aragonese village, Calomarde, with barely 60 inhabitants, nestled in the Sierra de Albarracín in Teruel. It preserves the charm of Aragonese mountains with its red-stone houses flanking cobbled streets that wind between orchards.
From here, the Barranco de la Hoz route (SL-T-40) presents itself as an irresistible invitation. It winds into the canyon carved by the Blanco River over almost 9 kilometres. It is accessible to most walkers, with a moderate difficulty that makes it ideal for adventurous families or beginner hikers, although it requires a minimum level of fitness due to its gentle gradients and exposed sections.
El Moricacho, a colossal rock
A few metres in, you encounter the first surprise: El Moricacho, a towering column of rock beside a natural arch. The path then descends to the Presa de los Ahogados, whose name recalls a tragic accident at the end of the nineteenth century when the place was not as safe as it is today. From there, it ventures into the gorge, where the Blanco River, with crystal-clear, cold waters from high springs, winds between vertical walls of reddish limestone.
An adventure on wooden and metal walkways
Suddenly, the path collides with the rocks, yet you can cross them via wooden and metal footbridges suspended above the waters. Your gaze will not rest, leaping from one vantage point to the next, each more impressive than the last.
As you press on, the footbridge twists, descends, and winds into nooks and crannies. Sometimes you are sheltered by the cool shade of the rock, or a clearing lets a shaft of golden light illuminate the water. The sensation is utterly immersive. You are not merely viewing the gorge; you are inside it, as when you pass beneath the Puente de Toba or traverse the Cañón de los Arcos, where the rock faces on either side almost touch. And so it continues for more than two kilometres of walking.
Then the route opens out at a place called El Molino de las Pisadas. These are dinosaur footprints impressed in the rock, witnesses to a Jurassic era when these giants trod the clay, though local tradition attributes them to the devil himself, who, it is said, would come dancing here on stormy nights.
Medicinal plants and wildlife
To enrich the experience, the route is a botanical paradise with medicinal plants such as bitter chamomile, ideal for digestive infusions, or thyme to fight colds, along with arnica for rheumatism and horsetail as a natural remineralising agent.
Further on, the path climbs through stands of black pines and junipers, where you may glimpse roe deer, golden eagles, peregrine falcons and griffon vultures, and it ends in Frías de Albarracín, another small and charming village, within whose municipality lies the source of the Tagus River, the longest in Spain. It is spectacular, as is Batida Waterfall, a 20-metre drop just a few kilometres away.
