Route through the El Valle Natural Park
This hiking route is ideal for the whole family, on foot or by bicycle, while enjoying nature and the panoramic views of Murcia...
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El Valle Visitor Centre.
The El Valle Visitor Centre offers information about the environment and shows the main values of the flora, fauna and geology of the park, as well as the marine fossils discovered in this area and the main aspects of the Park and its protection origins. Nearby is the recreational area of La Balsa, with a restaurant and outdoor tables next to a large round pond with fish and turtles. The recreational area also has a children's play area for the little ones and recreation areas with stone tables for a family picnic.
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El Valle Wildlife Recovery Centre.
The Valley, declared a Special Protection Area for Birds, has a centre for the recovery of birds of prey and protected species, which monitors, researches and treats specimens of wild fauna that have been damaged or threatened in their habitats. An ideal visit for families with children.
Very close to the Centre is the Arboretum, a former forest nursery, today converted into a botanical garden that allows visitors to discover the plant diversity of all the climatic regions of the planet.
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Visitors' Centre St. Antony the Poor.
The peace and solitude of these places have attracted hermits since the dawn of the Middle Ages. This Baroque hermitage takes its name from St. Antony Abad, founder of hermit life, and here we can see the cave carved out of the mountain that gave shelter to the hermit Juan the Poor in the 16th century.
Nearby is the convent of Sainte Catalina del Monte, an architectural ensemble comprising the Franciscan convent, the summer Episcopal Palace, garden and orchard.
La Luz Visitor Centre
Permanent exhibition dedicated to the knowledge of the Iberian culture (funeral rites and religious cults) and the wide religious tradition of the area. It also has a space dedicated to the great mountain tradition of Murcia -with spectacular views from its panoramic terraces-, and a cafeteria service. In this enclave are the Iberian archaeological remains of a temple dedicated to the goddess Demeter, the remains of the tower of the 12th century Arab Castle of La Luz, which occupied almost the entire hill, and the Monastery of La Luz, built with the aim of bringing together in a common monastery the anchorites who lived scattered in the vicinity.
Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Fuensanta.
It is a very popular place to visit all year round. The Sanctuary of La Fuensanta is surrounded by a natural environment of singular beauty, immersed in the Regional Park of Carrascoy and the Valley, a protected natural space that dominates the whole of the Murcia plain. In addition, around the Sanctuary there are other points of interest such as the so-called Fuente Santa (Holy Fountain) in Renaissance style, the Casa del Cabildo or Casa del Sacristán in neo-Arabic style, or the monastery of the Benedictine nuns, connected to the Sanctuary by an arch.
Cresta Del Gallo and La Panocha.
In the Cresta del Gallo, a mountainous formation integrated in the so-called Cordillera Sur, close to the city of Murcia, there is a formation of compact walls for climbing, known as "La Panocha" (523 metres high), a rocky mound that offers all the difficulties of classic climbing, an emblematic place for mountaineering in Murcia. The Cresta del Gallo owes its name to the group of large reddish rocks nestled on its summit that give it the appearance of a cock's crest, the largest of which is popularly known by the inhabitants of Murcia as "La Panocha", due to its corncob shape. Together with the Carrascoy mountain range, of which it is a natural continuation, it forms part of the Carrascoy and El Valle regional park. At its feet there is a large flat wooded area and a viewpoint with views of Murcia and its Huerta.
