Nature

The brownish-grey and ochre colours of the steppe define the Campo de Belchite Region. The extensive flat lands are covered with golden ears of cereal, which, rocked by the breeze, appear to dance in the fields.

The traditional cultivation of olives is a beautiful sight for all nature and biodiversity lovers, a privilege of this territory that works the land extensively.

The steppe scenery of Campo de Belchite houses birds of ornithological interest such as the DuPont’s lark, black-bellied sand grouse or the stone curlew, among other species. All of them are protected in the La Lomaza Wildlife Refuge and the El Planeron Ornithological Reserve. Bird lovers from different countries come here to be able to watch that bird that is missing in their checklist. In Lecera, a vulture eating trough has been built where hundreds of these scavenger birds feed. A show that can be enjoyed from an observatory set up a few metres away.

The Aguasvivas River has become the backbone for beautiful spots. In the villages it runs through, its banks turn into beautiful scenes developed by the hand of man into vegetable gardens or avenues. And when it runs freely through the countryside, it provides us with unforeseeable scenes such as waterholes, waterfalls and rugged gullies of singular beauty. The water flow has been used since the olden days, resulting in important as well as spectacular water facilities. Examples of this are the 1st century Roman dam of Almonacid de la Cuba, the mills of Samper del Salz, the oldest of the ones built by Rueda Monastery, dating back to the 11th century and completely restored today; the Moneva reservoir, ideal for aquatic activities such as fishing and nautical sports; and several bridges, aqueducts and springs that pepper the entire region.

The network of trails that run through this territory cover 300 kilometres, divided into 33 routes that share part of the layout of the old Utrillas railway track or the course of the Aguasvivas River. Other trails pass through fantastic steppe landscapes or meander next to geographic features such as gullies, gorges and small canyons, caves, folds and territories where Jurassic rock is visible. Apart from these routes, which can be followed on foot, on horseback or by bike, there are others that run through the Valmadrid pine groves, the real lung of the region; the Cucutas, a name given to the highest peaks in the entire territory; the olive grove or the vines and the seasonal routes such as the show offered by the almond trees in flower.