Sierra Espuña

There are various ways to get to this area by road, or by rail. The new motorway from Vera to Cartagena will enable you to take an easy route to Alhama de Murcia, which is at the foot of the Sierra Espuña. You can also access it via Totana and Aledo, or Mula and Pliego. The area is also very well connected by rail from Murcia City, or Barcelona via the daily TALGO line with train stops at Alhama and Totana.

The area of the Espuña Mountains has a varied landscape with beautiful shades of greens turning to relaxing yellows. Some of the natural landscape includes steppes, rivers, dams and high mountains, with some areas being extremely dry, while others within the leafy forests remain more moist. The region is up to 800 metres above sea level and there are some spectacular views including the limestone wall in Las Paredes de Leyva and the plateau of La Muela.

The Natural Park of the Espuñas is like an oasis in the middle of a semi-desert landscape, with the protected landscape of Gebas Precipices and its amazing reservoir of Algeciras Rambla. The forest is mainly dominated by the 'carrasco' pine and the 'holm' oak which is abundant in the Valley of Leyva. There are also 'quejigo' oak and the maple of Montpellier as well as elm trees, black poplars and dwarf willows. There are almost a thousand different vegetal species in the Espuña Mountains with black hawthorns, junipers and sabinas making up much of the vegetation. Like many mountainous regions, there is much erosion causing deep ravines to form and this is obvious in Los Barrancos de Gebas where the landscape is constantly changing.

There are eight species of amphibians, 17 reptiles, 123 birds and 38 different mammals registered in the Espuña Mountains. The mammals include the Espuña squirrel, wild goat, wild boar and various small mammals. The birds include various eagles including the real eagle, the worn eagle and the partridge eagle. In addition there are hawks, owls and numerous smaller birds such as the lark of Dupont.

The climate in the Espuñas is temperate, with warm summers and cold winters which often leave snow on the highest mountains for much of the winter months. There are 26 great circular structures which date back to the end of the 16th century and are known as the greatest Snow Well complexes or Las Pozos de Nieve. Every winter, brigades of workers from the surrounding towns, gathered snow and tamped it in the inside of the wells. These ice bars were used in the summer months to keep food cool and they were transported many kilometers away to towns such as Cartagena.

If you have not visited this area of the Costa Cálida, maybe now is the time. It is quite a novelty to see snow here in Spain and the little mountain roads make it a lovely trip out. In the summer months it is ideal to take a picnic, but at all times do be extra vigilant about smoking and lighting fires as the area can be extremely dry and forest fires are always a danger.


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