The best cycling routes around Tarazona

Stork's nest on the disused railway line

The Cueva del Castillo in Los Fayos is a fascinating place with a rich history. Located in the municipality of Los Fayos, in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, this natural cave has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. In the 12th century, a defensive castle was built taking advantage of the natural cavity in the rock. The castle of Los Fayos played a strategic role on the borders between the kingdoms of Aragon, Navarre and Castile. Although today only a few vestiges remain, such as the cistern and the water collection system, the cave remains a place of historical and archaeological interest. The entrance to the cave is located in a vertical cut in the rock, and a ladder is needed to access it. Inside the cave, several rooms can be seen, including the hearth and the cistern.

Super friendly welcome, I was helped out during a bike trip.

Borja has been on the map since the 5th century BC, there are about 5000 inhabitants and the town offers several sights. Church of San Miquel, church Sante Maria, baroque monastery Santa Klara etc.

Borja has a pronounced continental climate with limited precipitation of 350 to 450 mm per year. Hail and frost are common in spring and a cold, dry northerly wind (the cierzo) is typical of the area.

Visiting it is doing a deep review of the history of art in Spain, since in its construction there are spaces where all the styles that have existed since the 12th century, the time when construction began, come together. It is a unique example of a Gothic cathedral with an exceptional Mudejar and Renaissance legacy. The Tarazona Cathedral was built in the French Gothic style, but it maintains magnificent examples of the Mudejar style, including a Gothic-Mudejar cloister.

Tarazona boasts of offering a wide list of monuments of incalculable artistic value. The cathedral is a unique example of a Gothic temple in which an exceptional Mudejar and Renaissance legacy coexists.

Stage 2. Ágreda/Majada Baja Refuge 107.3 kilometers. 1,830 positive meters. In Ágreda we say that we are going towards Tarazona and they respond with a certain indifference that without a problem, it is “all downhill”, they do not know that we are following the Soriano-Camino Antonino Natural Water Trail and we are faithful to the red milestones that leave the town along the Parque de la Dehesa, first going up to the town of Aldehuela de Ágreda, which is actually a neighborhood of Ágreda where six people live. The route leaves Ágreda along the route of the GR-86 Sendero Ibérico Soriano and before reaching Fuentes de Ágreda it turns off towards Aldehuela. The village is charming. The houses are hidden between ravines and trees and the only street in the place is quite steep, you have to be aware of the detour of the route along a grassy alley, where the old laundry is, and continue along some forestry work roads until the source. of the Queiles River, in Vozmediano, another fascinating surprise on the itinerary. The arrival to the town follows an old bridle path prepared for the passage of bicycles and hikers that ends at the houses of Vozmediano, below the Arab castle and the magnificent keep. And then comes the descent towards Tarazona through the beautiful valley of the Queiles River. The enjoyable part ends in Los Fayos, the first municipality of Zaragoza, embedded at the foot of impressive walls of red sandstone conglomerates full of caves and legends. Tarazona is nearby and again it could be “all downhill”, instead the milestones go up the cemetery hill to avoid the main road. There are also arrows of the Camino de Santiago. At the entrance to Tarazona there is the option to continue straight through the historic center or go down directly to the Queiles River promenade. Both options are valid and discover the architectural wonders of the city, full of historical buildings, monuments and centuries-old stones. The Mudejar tower of the church of Santa María Magdalena is an icon of artistic heritage next to the Episcopal Palace building, it is difficult to pass through Tarazona and not stop at a terrace on the banks of the Queiles to try their famous dough cakes contemplating the skyline of the city, a fusion of cultures revealed in the universal message of the stone converted into art and monument.