La Puebla De Valverde offers several starting points for planning a trip: historic gates and buildings in the town, recurring festivals, and hiking trails of varying lengths and durations. The circular route through the Barranco del Hocino is 7.4 kilometres long and takes an estimated one hour and 35 minutes. Another circular route starts in El Ventorrillo, passes the abandoned Masía del Manzano, the Barranco de Gollonga and El Val, and is 14.5 kilometres long; the walking time is about three hours. This makes it possible to choose the scope of a hike based on specific distance and time information.

Hiking with different time requirements

A hike in the area around the town can also be completed in four or five hours. The GR 8 circular route starts at the Fuente del Serrallo at the entrance to the town and returns to La Puebla De Valverde. On GR-8 Stage 15, the route reaches the town via the Fuente de Los Santos and the Ermita de San Roque. Stage 16 starts at the Portal de Valencia, joins the Vía Verde Ojos Negros-Sagunto and crosses a mining railway viaduct. These route details differ in course and duration, so compare them according to the scope of hike you want, rather than treating them as variations of the same tour.

A longer stage is the Camino Natural Santander-Mediterráneo from La Puebla De Valverde to Albentosa: it is just over 22 kilometres long and passes fields where black truffles are cultivated. The starting point is beside the former railway station of La Puebla De Valverde, at kilometre marker 83. This stage therefore involves a different time commitment from the two circular routes with the stated walking times. Trail conditions may change; check the current route description before setting out. The trail markers for the GR 8 circular route may also change.

Gates, buildings and local history

Visible remains of the former town wall include the Portal de Teruel, the Portal de Valencia and possible sections of the wall. The Portal de Teruel is the best-preserved of the surviving gates and was the town’s main entrance. The Portal de Valencia was restored by the Government of Aragón. The gate is defined by two pointed arches; the inner arch is made of limestone blocks. The gates thus connect visible architectural details with their former function in the town.

The town centre has traditional three-storey Baroque houses dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. The parish church of Santa Emerenciana is a Gothic-Renaissance building from the 16th and 17th centuries with a Mannerist portal. The chapel of Nuestra Señora de Loreto dates from the 16th century and is a Renaissance building. These buildings represent different periods of construction: from the Renaissance, through the Gothic-Renaissance church, to the later Baroque houses. Anyone interested in architecture will find several clearly distinct styles and periods here, rather than a single, uniform architectural landscape.

The palaeontological site of Rocha de la Noguera offers a different perspective on time. It dates from the Pliocene–Pleistocene; remains of various mammals have been found there. This means that, alongside local history and architecture, geological time periods are also among the themes associated with La Puebla De Valverde.

Festivals throughout the year

The patron saint festivals in honour of the Virgen de Valverde take place in the first few days of September, around the second Sunday of the month. The Romería de Santa Bárbara falls on the first Sunday in May. The Romería de San Martín is held on the Sunday closest to 11 November; it includes a Mass, Gachas and Bureo at the Masía del Manzano. These recurring dates offer different points of reference in the travel year. If you want to plan your trip around a festival, check that year’s programme before making your plans.

Trails and landscape in a wider context

As well as its length, the La Puebla de Valverde–Albentosa stage has a specific connection to local agriculture: it passes fields where black truffles are cultivated. The starting point beside the former railway station and kilometre marker 83 help distinguish the start of this stage from the starting points of the circular routes. The first stage of the Vía Verde Ojos Negros runs mainly through the province of Teruel, along the former mining railway of the Sierra Menera. This historic railway line also forms the backdrop to the viaduct crossed by GR-8 Stage 16.

A stay here can therefore be shaped around different interests: shorter or longer hikes, the history of buildings in the town centre, recurring festivals, or the connection between the landscape and truffle cultivation. The stated durations for the circular routes range from about one hour and 35 minutes to about three hours; a hike in the surrounding area is listed as taking four or five hours, while the stage to Albentosa is just over 22 kilometres long. These differences can help you match your available time to the hiking experience you want.

Discover more destinations: Alcañiz, Aliaga, Linares De Mora, Abejuela, Jabaloyas, Guadalaviar, Valdecuenca, Burbáguena.

For the overall travel guide: Teruel.