The Ruta Argárica Blog
26 October, 2021
Coin cave
What a fantastic morning I spent with Juanlu and Isa, both on the journey and exploring the fabulous Cueva de la Moneda (en: Coin Cave), in the heart of Sierra Espuña, located 700 meters above sea level. To access its interior, it is necessary to rappel a vertical drop of 8 meters deep leading to…
26 October, 2021
Sierra Espuña snow wells
What would you think if I told you that already, at the end of the 14th century, you could enjoy an ice cream or a cold drink with ice to alleviate the effects of the torrid Murcia summers? You may think that it is impossible, probably because you do not know the existence and use…
19 October, 2021
Aledo Water mine
Muslims founded Aledo and its fortress towards the end of the 9th century. Today, the old urban centre is still surrounded by the wall and defence towers perfectly adapted to the natural rock cut on a strategically selected rock crag. Before going to the mine, it is worth taking a tour of the municipality to…
19 October, 2021
Strait of Arboleja
This is, without a doubt, a breathtaking natural setting and one of my favourite spots in the central area of the Region of Murcia. Even more, if we take into account the aridity of the surrounding area near the municipality of Aledo. It is also known as the Cerrada de la Agualeja or Algualeja. It…
12 October, 2021
Cave of the Mortolitos
You will have already seen that the rich heritage of the municipality of Totana and, in general, of the whole area linked to Sierra Espuña is impressive. Many settlements correspond to the prehistoric stages, from the Paleolithic to the end of the Bronze Age. Especially noteworthy is their proliferation in the area known as Mortí….
5 October, 2021
The Vulture Hill
The Vulture Hill (es: Cerro o Cabezo del Buitre) is located on the eastern slope of the Sierra de la Tercia and belongs to the municipality of Lorca. This Sierra is located, in turn, between Sierra Espuña and the Guadalentín Valley. Meanwhile, La Bastida is situated in its northern foothills. Unfortunately, as it happened with…
29 September, 2021
The mills’ Riverbed, Patalache and La Mauta cave
An excursion that you cannot miss is the one that takes you from La Bastida site to Patalache, through the Mills’ riverbed (sp: Rambla de los Molinos). It is a place of enormous scenic and ethnographic interest. On the way, we will come across up to 5 abandoned flour mills, which operated with the waters…
21 September, 2021
Cave of La Tazona
In a small flat hill, which is now even flatter due the cuts made by backhoes at its top, hidden from view and very close to the junction between the Carivete road and the Tajo-Segura water transfer, in Totana, It is located the Cave of La Tazona. At the end of the 19th century, the…
6 September, 2021
Climbing in La Cierva water reservoir (Mula)
We were looking for a place to initiate our friends into climbing and, at the same time, for us to return to this activity after a “commercial break”, this time, with children eager to run around. The book “Climbing in Sierra Espuña” by Ángel Ortiz and José Matas showed us the area. In the surroundings…
14 September, 2016
The Silver caves
Thanks to the book “Cuevas de Murcia” (Caves of Murcia, 2015: J. Quero, M. Sánchez, E. Martínez), I discovered the existence of this cave located in the Sierra. My friend, who is passionate about excursions and archaeology, already knew it. So he gladly accompanied me to visit Las Cuevas de la Plata (The Silver Caves)…