Primers Pobladors (equestrian)

The Primers Pobladors Route links the towns of Cretas, Mazaleón, Calaceite and Valdeltormo along a 47.2 km route. The starting point is at the Estación Rural del Matarranya (the old Greenway station), 500 metres from Cretas, and ends in Mazaleón.

The itinerary immerses us in the past, letting us enjoy: natural landscapes, fields of thousand-year-old olive trees, vines, peach and almond trees, dotted with small patches of woodland, as well as the river Matarraña; and architectural heritage of great beauty, hermitages, Iberian settlements, waterwheels, traditional buildings.

The main route is linear, and has 2 branches, one towards Calaceite and another towards Valdeltormo.

The route has its starting point in the municipal area of Cretas, near the old Greenway station. We set off towards the town centre, cross it and continue to the northwest, along the Barranco del Calapata track, until we reach the Bassa d'En Perler -a watering trough. Following the same route, we observe an example of the constructions that were of crucial importance in the everyday life of our ancestors: the waterwheel, used to draw water for irrigation.

Further on, we find the cave paintings of La Roca dels Moros and Els Gascons -declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site- and shortly afterwards, we observe another waterwheel, in this case the one at Costa del Calapatar. We continue riding north among fields of almond and olive trees, where we will find a fork that lets us take the alternative paths to Calaceite.

We continue along the main axis until we find the remains of the Els Castellans Iberian Settlement and the Lime Kiln, near the Font de la Madrillera -a watering trough-, and we continue west, with a slight zigzag. Once again, and now on the bank of the river Matarraña, we find a variant of the main route. In this case, it leads us to Valdeltormo.

We continue along the main itinerary in a northeasterly direction, where the river Matarraña accompanies us on our way towards Mazaleón. After passing under the bridge, we ride near El Tilo del Molí d'Arnal, a monumental tree. From here on, vegetable gardens and peach orchards predominate. On the final stretch, we can visit the hermitage of San Cristóbal and the San Cristóbal Iberian Settlement. The town centre of Mazaleón marks the end of this route, which lets us enjoy a contrast of natural landscapes of great beauty, dotted with numerous cultural remains from different periods.

About 7 kilometres from Cretas, the path forks and we can take a branch that goes towards Calaceite among olive, almond and vine crops. After passing the beautiful spot of the hermitage of Santa Ana and the Font d'En Oró -watering troughs- we can visit the Tossal Redó Iberian Settlement and the Font de les Espiles -a watering trough-. The end point of the route is at the hermitage of San Cristóbal, next to the Iberian settlement of San Antonio, from where there are spectacular views over the entire Matarraña region.

Once the main axis reaches the river Matarraña, we have the option of taking the branch that leads us to the municipality of Valdeltormo, passing by the Iberian settlements of Torre Cremada and Tossal Montañés and linking up, if desired, with the Val de Zafán Greenway.