Excursion Perigañol and Caixa

Difficulty level: moderate.

Length: 4,78 Km (round trip).

Height difference: 400 m.

The track (PR) ascends to the summit of ‘Perigañol’ and ‘La Caixa’, in the mountain range, and starts on the paved path between Beceite and ‘embalse de Pena’ (reservoir), named ‘camino dels olivars’ (path of olive groves). Leaving Beceite in the direction of the reservoir, the path is on the right, 4.5 km away. It starts parallel to a stone wall and passes through dry agricultural land with almond and olive trees and cereals.

After passing the farming area, the path ascends sharply; the rise is pretty much continuous for the whole excursion. The vegetation is intermittent, combined with stony areas, and the first panoramic views of ‘embalse de Pena’ are seen from this point.

Twenty minutes on, a pine forest clearing and a steep slope lead us to a clayey area with a rainwater pond, ‘balsa del Quinto’, that supplies wild animals. The path rises again after passing through abandoned terraces and gives us outstanding views of Beceite, the reservoir and the massif of ‘Puertos de Beceite’.

We first spot ‘Perigañol’ and ‘La Caixa’ shortly before halfway.  After about three quarters of the journey, the path branches off. To the right, it leads to ‘Perigañol’ (1033 m) in 5 minutes. We have an excellent view of the middle Matarraña from the top of the mountain, where a forestry monitoring building is placed. The left path takes us to the bottom of ‘La Caixa’ in 10 minutes.