Let me share with you more great places for hiking in Castellon – La Senda Del Rio in Teresa and El Sargal in Viver. While August in The Valencia Region has two unmissable attributes every single year: summer heat and overcrowdedness of the vacation season – there are secret ways for you to escape both. It´s all about knowing where to search.
Hiking in Castellon
As you might know, the Region of Valencia (or La Comunidad Valenciana in Spanish) consists of three provinces – Valencia, Alicante, and Castellon. All of the following, besides being known for some of the best beaches in Spain, endows its visitors with lots of otherworldly beautiful landscapes and epic hikes.
While there are obviously lots of things to see and do in the city of Valencia, summers are made for refreshing escapes and walks with nature. There are so many great hikes in the Region of Valencia and secret trails in Castellon ( blog subscribers, don’t forget your freebie with the ultimate Valencia Region Hiking Checklist). While some of the hikes, like The Route of the Hanging Bridges get quite popular on the weekends, others might provide you with a much more peaceful experience.
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This is why my August plans mostly roll around hiking in Castellon, which is significantly less represented on the international touristic arena, than its famous neighbors Valencia and Alicante. We were the only people exploring The Millenary Olive Trees Route, hiking to the Gaibiel Castle, and enjoying Ruta de los molinos in Lucena del Cid. The last two happened in August, which is absolutely incredible for such a touristy country like Spain.
Hiking in Castellon La Senda Del Rio de Teresa this week was no exception. But first, let me share with one of the Valencia Hidden Gems discovered on the road – El Sargal.
El Sargal in Viver
Viver is a small town nearby Jerica, known in the province of Castellon for lots of hiking trails. Both Jerica and Viver are also popular among bike lovers, as they are stops on the epicVia Verde de Ojos Negros, connecting Valencia and Teruel.
El Sargal is a 40000 m2-park in the small town of Viver, which quite frankly resembles magical forests in Spain. Besides beautiful greenery, streams, and waterfalls, one´s attention is immediately dragged by stunning cave formations – Cuevas de Sargal.
Formed by water from local Fuente del Ponton, these caves served as a refuge for the first inhabitants of the region from Paleolithic to Neolithic.
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El Sargal of Viver is a beautiful nature escape all year round, you can combine it with your Valencia Day trip to Sagunto , Navajas, Gaibiel Castle hike, Jeria routes (visit Jerica tourist office at calle Rio 2 for maps and directions) or La Senda Del Rio in Teresa (like we did).
La Senda Del Rio de Teresa
The highlight of our recent hiking in Castellon experience was the energizing route of La Senda Del Rio in the small town of Teresa.
Once you arrive in Teresa and park, you need to descend towards the Palancia River. You’ll see a large picnic area of La Fuente del Batan. Cross the river and head right (against the river current) till you see the wooden sign La Senda del Rio. This is where the route starts.
Useful tips
The only warning is to avoid the area after the rainy days (which is honestly quite seldom in Castellon). The trail might be a bit flooded. We also encountered some puddles and mud on the way, but nothing way too troubling. Don’t wear light-purple trainers (like I did) and be careful not to slip a few times and you’ll be fine. While local authorities cover the muddy areas with wooden planks (similar to industrial pallets) you still might occasionally get dirty.
When to visit
Let me remind you – we visited Teresa in mid-August, so it also was a perfect place for the refreshing swim. I´ve heard the river is much drier in winter – but I´ll confirm this to you once I can try and test this tip personally. For me, one of the top perks of La Senda Del Rio route is being around running water and finding some shadow in the warmer months. So this particular hike was a must for summer hiking in Castellon.
Following the route
Once you get to this Fabrica de la Luz sign, you´ll have two choices – to follow the river trail or to return to the village of Teresa. We opted for the second choice to explore alternative landscapes.
Also read: An Oasis of Greenery – Lagunas De Ruidera Natural Park
On our way back, we somehow took the wrong trail upwards to the mountains. It´s impossible to get it wrong hiking La Senda Del Rio – because you have only one way in front of you, shaped by the trees. But once you leave it, you should always look for the stone marks to follow your route. If you see the cross it means this particular trail stops at this point. To be honest, it´s actually our kids´ favorite hiking activity – to search for and keep track of these stone marks.
Getting lost
Although you shouldn’t really worry about getting lost because you’ll clearly see the village of Teresa most of the time. So, even if you get off the route you´ll eventually get back on it if moving in the right direction. Like we did.
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Apparently, there was another route upwards across the local mountains, which we took by accident. It was a bit more challenging but offered some great views of the area. I guess we returned somewhere halfway through it, but only due to summer heat (there was no shadow on it).
Then, while heading towards Teresa we’ve somehow incorporated onto the right trail, which didn´t go along the river but took us back to the village through some local pine forests.
Is it worth it?
To sum up, La Senda Del Rio is a totally recommendable route for hiking in Castellon and The Region of Valencia. You might see lots of families having a picnic on weekends, once you park and head to La Fuente del Batan. Nevertheless, once you follow the wooden sign La Senda Del Rio, there´ll be no one around – we haven´t encountered a single person during our hike. Which made it such a unique and peaceful walk with nature we´ll be willing to repeat.
For more inspiring travel ideas check my Pinterest boards Valencia and Travel+Nature.
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So ready to do this next summer!
I’m not usually a big hiker but Spain looks beautiful. I would totally give it a try. Thank you for sharing!
Wow, this hiking trail looks awesome! What great views. Thanks for sharing