Sierra Espuna places of interest Murcia. Murcia Costa Calida Directory

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The Espuna Mountain Range (or in Spanish, Sierra Espuña) is an ample nature reserve of outstanding beauty. Here are landscapes of vineyards and forests, of surprising green colours and in the summer, extreme dryness. A route by these lands reunites a complete nature sample book: forests and steppes, rivers, dams, high mountains, irrigated and dry land.

Although the average altitude of the region goes up to around 800 meters above sea level, all is distributed over mountain summits varying from 200 and 1.583 metres. Travellers will find splendid scenery in the limestone strong wall in Las Paredes de Leyva, of more than 3 km. of length and 100 and 150 metres of unevenness, Los Cuchillos de El Bosque or the impressive plateau of La Muela, at 1.554 meters above sea level.

The landscape of the region has been equipped with other capricious forms, those of water: the deep tube of El Baranco de la Hoz or the narrow Estrecho de la Algualeja are an example. As also it is the intrincate system of precipices, "cárcavas" and plateaus of the lunar landscape of Gebas, that justifies its official declaration of Protected Area.

Along with the Precipice of Malvariche in Totana or Rambla de Algeciras in
Alhama, some of the most representative Mediterranean channels are formed.

Abundant historical remains exist in the mountain and its surroundings. In addition to the sites of prehistoric times to which we have already made reference, Espuña counts on one of the greatest Snow Well complexes, the old refrigerators. Los Pozos de Nieve are 26 great circular structures excavated on the land, located to about 1.300 meters of altitude, with origins going back to the end of the 16^th Century.

Every winter, workers of the towns of the mountain ranges raised until the summits, to dedicate themselves to the hard task of gathering snow from the ground to store it and to stamp it on the inside of the wells. With the arrival of the spring the work was reversed, dedicating the same brigades to extract the ice bars to consume them in the great cities of the zone, in places even located to more than 70 kilometers.

The traveller who is interested in enjoying this place is going to find cities like Aledo, Alhama of Murcia, Sheet, Mula or Totana; areas like Santa Leocadia, El Purgatorio, El Berro, Gebas and Casas Nuevas as well as valuable natural spaces like the Regional Park of Sierra Espuna or the Protected Landscape of Gebas Precipices, its surprising reservoir of Algeciras Rambla.

From the climatologic point of view, this is a tempered zone with warm summers and smooth winters that, in the coldest periods, leaves snow on the highest summits from which you can see the sea on clear days.

All the towns that form part of the Sierra Espuna area have maintained a similar human occupation throughout the time, from the oldest cultures to the present time.

The first vestiges of human presence are in Anton Cave, in the tail of Cierva
Dam, vestiges that go back to Paleolitic Age –about 40.000 years B.C.– In Sierra Espuna there are still more discoveries on numerous rocks of prehistoric rests to be found, like that of approximately 20.000 years of antiquity, near the Algarrobo Rambla (River).

A fantastic day out, you will be amazed by the green forests of pine trees, the friendly wild boars who sniff around close to the restaurants located in the heart of the Natural Park and the outstanding view points located all around.

Sierra Espuna places of interest Murcia. Murcia Costa Calida Directory

Sierra Espuna, Places of Interest