Pels camins del Matarranya marathon route

The route crosses an essentially mountainous territory offering a great variety of landscapes that define the Matarraña comarca: terra, riu i muntanya (land, river and mountain, as the poet Desideri Lombarte described it).

Over 82.28 km it links the towns of Cretas, Valderrobres, Fuentespalda, Peñarroya de Tastavins, Torre de Arcas and Monroyo. From Cretas, the route also connects with the Greenway and the IE-015.

From the Old Railway Station we head towards the south-west of Cretas. After crossing the Val de Zafán Greenway (Vía Verde) again, we soon see the hermitage of Los Santos. In about 5 km we reach Valderrobres after crossing the Matarraña River.

From the Gothic ensemble of Valderrobres we enter a Mediterranean landscape. After the turn-off towards El Salt we pass in front of the hermitage of San Pedro Mártir, then gradually climb up to Fuentespalda.

We set off from the Fuentespalda campsite along the GR-8, pass by the Coveta de l´Aigua (a karstic cave) and an old tile works. From here the Tastavins river accompanies us to the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Fuente.

From the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Fuente, the path leads us towards the Tastavins river. We climb towards the mas de la Serra, next to a holm oak. We leave behind the Punta de La Cogulla and La Camiseta and begin the descent to Torre de Arcas, passing by the hermitage of San Bernardo.

The holm oaks of the hermitage of San Bernardo give way to pine forest. Our route follows the gorge of Torre de Arcas, where we meet the GR-8. We climb near the PR-170 until we reach Monroyo.