This is a short and easily accessible path. The route starts on a narrow road, before crossing the bridge over the Martín river in the direction of Alacón. The road ends at the reservoir dam of Cueva Foradada, which was built at the beginning of the last century, and which can be reached by car. The reservoir facilities are accessible during working hours. 272 steps hollowed out in the stone allow us to reach the top, from which we can observe the reservoir all the way to Alcaine. There, a large colony of griffon vultures have found a safe place to live, between the stacks of the Malvín hill and the steep walls of the Sanchoabarca mountain range. The mountain range and stacks channel the river in whose strait the dam was built. During the breeding period we can see some Egyptian vultures and, if we are lucky, even some eagles. There are usually plenty of aquatic birds prowling the quiet water of the reservoir, but their observation is recommended at the end of the reservoir, in Alcaine.
Going back to the road towards Oliete, less than 15 minutes from the reservoir, we will get to a water channel that crosses the Martín river. Water is channeled from a ditch to the fertile Oliete fields. There, a path starts on the right (on the left if we come from Oliete). The wooden arrows and other indications will take us around the foot of the mountain range to the Tía Chula ravine, less than 500 meters from the farmyards of Oliete. There, at the ravine, we can find the "Tía Chula ravine's rock paintings," which are a World Heritage site. An information board there will help us learn more about them, and about the valley. |
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