A visit to the GREAT Natural Park of Cazorla, Segura and las Villas

Alejandro Stendelis
Alejandro Stendelis

One of the great attractions of the province of Jaén is the Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park, which is the central point of one of the routes for people over 65 years of age organized by the Jaén Provincial Council. It is an impressive mid-mountain park, with steep ravines, valleys and a large amount of water resources, including the Tranco reservoir. In addition, there you can enjoy a unique diversity of animal species: mountain goat, deer, fallow deer, mouflon and wild boar, among others, and a large number of municipalities with a history, buildings and monuments that we will visit.

El Tranco: a Leisure Center with restaurant and boat

The first attraction of the route is the Tranco reservoir, in the Tranco Leisure Center, a mandatory stop, with views of the reservoir and a solar boat, which has become the biggest tourist attraction in the park.

The Center is located in front of the Tranco reservoir dam, completed back in 1944, after 15 years of construction. It will be our lunch spot, witnessing spectacular views. You're going to love it!

Visit by tourist train: Collado del Almendral Wildlife Center

After lunch, we will visit the Collado del Almendral Wildlife Park, where we will get on the train to take a tour of the place chosen by Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente to record the deer rutting in the chapter “Prisoners of the Forest” from the famous series Man and the Earth.

A 100-hectare area located in the heart of the Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park, and created with the purpose of preserving the fauna of the Natural Park, as well as the conservation and environmental education.

It is an open-air "classroom" where the natural resources that this great Park has are shown.
After the train route we will go to the hotel, have dinner and have fun sharing unforgettable moments.

Almendral Hill

Ruins of Santa María in Cazorla

On day 2, we will head towards Cazorla, to visit the ruins of Santa María with a climb to the Tower and the Vault of the Cerezuelo River, which will make us understand part of the history of this beautiful town.

The ruins are on the Cerezuelo River, which forced it to be channeled, entering through a large vault under the main altar, and crossing the entire church, to continue its course under the Plaza de Santa María. It is very likely that the temple was never completed and that the damage caused by a terrible flood in 1694 was the trigger for not finishing it.

The ruins before the reform:

Ruins before opening to the public

How it is now:

After your visit we will take a walk through the alleys of the town and return to the hotel for lunch.

La Toya sepulchral chamber

Another of the jewels of the province of Jaén, a visit to the Iberian site of the Toya Sepulchral Chamber, in Peal de Becerro, a funerary monument that some historians consider one of the most important Iberian constructions on the Peninsula and, perhaps, the most ancient.

Miguel Hernández Museum – Josefina Manresa

We will visit the Miguel Hernández and Rafael Zabaleta Museum in Quesada, where the legacy of two of the great artists of the 20th century in our country is preserved. Their time in prison after the Civil War makes them even more like victims of a dark Spain in which the color of the oil painting and verse was persecuted by the black of the dictatorship.

ITINERARY DETAILS STEP BY STEP

10:30 a.m.: Visit to Cazorla with tickets to the Ruins of Santa María with a climb to the Tower and the Vault of the Cerezuelo River, which will make us understand the passage of history through this beautiful town. We have free time to walk around this wonderful town and buy a multitude of typical gastronomic items from the place.

We return to the hotel for lunch.

4:00 p.m. Visit to the Sanctuary of Tíscar, Cueva del Agua and Castle. The group formed by these three enclaves is in relation to the Virgin of Tíscar. Cueva del Agua or Gruta de las Maravillas, where tradition says that the Virgin appeared in 1319. Tíscar Castle was built in the Arab era on easily defended rocks. It carried out several expansions, occupying even the place where the sanctuary stands today. Currently only remains of the keep remain. After the Christian conquest, its structures were maintained and modified. In the parade ground you can still see the coat of arms of Peter I (1052-1104).

7:00 p.m.: Transfer to the hotel. Toilet and brief rest.

8:00 p.m.: Dinner. After it, socio-cultural animation. Accommodation

Day 12/02/2021. SEGURA – GAME PARK.

09:00 a.m.: Breakfast.

10:00 hours. Arrival in Segura de la Sierra and visit the town, visiting the Arab baths and the beautiful Church.

14:00. LUNCH at THE EL TRANCO LEISURE AND ACTIVE TOURISM CENTER.

4:00 p.m.: Visit to the COLLADO DEL ALMENDRAL CINEGÉTICO PARK. We got on a train to take a tour of the place chosen by Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente to record the fight of the deer during the rut in the chapter “Prisoners of the Forest” of the famous series Man and the Earth. After the sighting, we returned to the hotel.

7:00 p.m.: Transfer to the hotel. Toilet and brief rest.

8:00 p.m.: Dinner. After it, socio-cultural animation. Accommodation

Day 12/03/2021. PEAL DE CECERRO – QUESADA – City of origin.

8:00 a.m.: Breakfast.

10:30 a.m. Cultural Visit to the Sepulchral Chamber of Toya de Peal del Becerro Peal de Becerro is one of the main stops on the Journey to the Time of the Iberians thanks to its princely tombs. The visit begins at the Interpretation Center of the Princely Tombs of Toya and Hornos, where you can, among many other things, visit a life-size replica of the Tomb of Hornos, as well as virtual visits to the Chamber of Toya, videos of the Iberian people , etc. that will help them know and give meaning to those rituals of death and cremation that so characterized them. The Necropolis, which is accessed by a downward curved ramp, is almost square, approximately five meters on a side. It is divided into three naves, one central and two lateral, the latter being subdivided into two other areas, each one. Poyos and tables were used to place the cinerary urns and other "ceramic" pieces, which made up the trousseau found. The doors that form an arch that starts pointed and is truncated on its slope by a lintel are curious, thus acquiring great architectural value.

12:00 hours. The Miguel Hernández / Josefina Manresa Museum of Quesada, Jaén, was born in light of the agreement reached between the heirs of the illustrious writer, the Jaén Provincial Council and the Quesada City Council, a fact that has allowed the deposit and custody of the poet's legacy in the province. It is also integrated into the current Rafael Zabaleta Museum, with the intention of taking advantage of already created infrastructure and common spaces, as well as relating the figures of the writer and the painter, two contemporary artists from the first half of the 20th century, who portray the town in his work and establish parallels in its contents. The general objective of the museum is to highlight the work and life example of the poet Miguel Hernández, and the role of Josefina Manresa as the writer's poetic muse and as a determining figure in the conservation and protection of her husband's literary legacy at the time. hardest of the Spanish postwar.

After lunch, we head towards our place of origin. Arrival (see schedules and delivery points in description). END OF OUR SERVICES.

INCLUDED SERVICES:

Approved transportation throughout the itinerary.

Accompanying guide throughout the itinerary.

Travel insurance.

2 nights in a hotel.

2 full board + 1 extra lunch day 3.

Entrance to the Interpretation Center + Toya Sepulchral Chamber

Entrance to the Sanctuary, Cave and Castle.

Entrance to the Zabaleta + Miguel Hernandez Museum.

Visit to the Collado del Almendral Hunting Park.

Entrance to the Ruins of Santa Maria in Cazorla.

Visit to Cazorla.

Entrance to the Cerezuelo River Vault in Cazorla.

Visit to Segura de la Sierra.

And if you are already inside, here we leave you the assistance telephone numbers and your guides:

Mobile assistance: 627628080

Guide that will accompany you: Sonia Romero (665503744)

Driver: Elidio Navarro

Telephone support:

Telephones during business hours (9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.)

627628080 | 953496027

24 hour telephone numbers:

629361601 | 636679081

Anti-Covid Measures during the trip: click here

Information upon arrival at the hotel: click here

1 comment

  1. Los parques nacionales son tesoros naturales, hogares de una asombrosa diversidad acuática. En sus ríos y lagos cohabitan innumerables especies, desde peces coloridos hasta plantas acuáticas únicas, reflejando la riqueza de la biodiversidad en estos ecosistemas prístinos.

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