Hiking in Spain: El Valle

I love mountains and I love hiking. Back in Romania I never missed a chance to go wandering and discovering new landscapes. In the mountains, I feel peaceful and calm and relieved as if all of my concerns are way too small compared to the majesty of the mountain. I feel home.

Nevertheless, it takes me around 1h and a half to get to the mountain area in Romania, but, here, I am starting my route in El Valle Regional Park in less than 40 minutes.

I didn’t pay too much attention to this place until one friend asked me to join him on a small hike. I enjoyed the route, even though it was just a small one. Three months later, I returned to this park willing to discover more about it. I took my wonderful bike and in 35 min I was in Alberca, at the entrance of the park. The road is really steep, so for the last kilometre, I alternated cycling with walking. What an adventure!!! I promised myself to come more often so that I become more resilient.

At the information centre, they presented only 2 routes. I chose the longest and went into the wild, discovering El Valle. It was more like a cycling path, even though I don't know how people can ride a bike under those conditions. I felt so happy whenever I met another sign which assured me that I was following the right path. After walking for almost one hour, at a crossroads, I saw a guy who was walking his dog. More precisely, he was running with his dog, haha. I probably looked helpless, so he stopped and asked whether I was okay. My goal was reaching Relojero peak, and I was interested in finding a quicker way to do so. And that's when it all started. He began talking about that area with so much love and joy. I was fascinated by his stories and legends. There were so many other routes starting from various points. They were just not very well marked, but for him, a local, this wasn’t a problem.

This is how I found out about King Kong’s Wall, about a track called ‘Bonita’ (beautiful in Spanish), about a monastery where children who suffered from pulmonary infections would come to be treated with fresh air. Moreover, he showed me ‘El Paisaje Lunar’ (moon-scape like landscape), a breathtaking view.

I also found out that from Calasparra (which is visible from El Relojero peak) spring almost all of the Murcian rivers. Amazing, I can’t wait to go there and admire the landscapes. I’ve been told that Calasparra is greener than the north, so that really caught my attention.

I love this kind of moments when you randomly meet someone and start talking and sharing experiences. That guy really changed my perception of El Valle park and I am looking forward to discovering more of that area.

El Valle, I am coming!

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