The Primers Pobladors route

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

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

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

The route starts in the municipal district of Cretas, near the former Greenway station. We set off towards the town centre, pass through it and continue north-west along the Calapata gorge track until we reach the Bassa d'En Perler —drinking trough. Following the same route, we observe an example of the constructions that were of vital importance in the daily life of our ancestors: the waterwheel (noria), used to draw water for irrigation.

Further on, we find the rock paintings of La Roca dels Moros and Els Gascons —declared UNESCO World Heritage— and shortly after, we observe another waterwheel (noria), in this case the one at Costa del Calapatar. We continue north between almond and olive groves, where we will find a fork that allows us to take the alternative paths to Calaceite.

We continue along the main axis until we find the remains of the Iberian settlement of Els Castellans and the lime kiln, near the Font de la Madrillera —drinking trough—, and continue westwards with a small zigzag. Once again, now on the banks of the Matarraña River, we find a variant of the main route. In this case, it leads us to Valdeltormo.

We follow the main itinerary north-east, where the Matarraña River will accompany us on our way to Mazaleón. After passing under the bridge, we walk near El Tilo del Molí d'Arnal, a monumental tree. From here, orchards and peach tree fields dominate the landscape. In the final stretch, we can visit the hermitage of San Cristóbal and the Iberian settlement of San Cristóbal. The town of Mazaleón brings this route to an end, allowing us to enjoy a contrast of natural landscapes of great beauty, dotted with numerous cultural remains from different eras.

About 7 kilometres from Cretas, the path forks and we can take a branch heading towards Calaceite through olive, almond and vine cultivation. After passing the beautiful setting of the hermitage of Santa Ana and the Font d'En Oró —drinking troughs— we can visit the Iberian settlement of Tossal Redó and the Font de les Espiles —drinking trough—. The final 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 of the entire Matarraña region.

Once the main axis reaches the Matarraña River, we have the option of taking the branch that leads us to the town of Valdeltormo, passing through the Iberian settlements of Torre Cremada and Tossal Montañés, and linking up, if desired, with the Val de Zafán Greenway (Vía Verde).