Valdesaz combines a historic village centre with specific hiking and mountain biking features. The Iglesia de la Concepción stands at the centre of the main square; an 18th-century fountain adds to the area’s historical character. The municipality is also crossed by Route RCGU-39 and hosts an MTB event whose course details apply to a specific edition. When planning a trip, you can consider local history, hiking and the event date separately.
Church, Square and Architectural History
The Iglesia de la Concepción stands in Valdesaz’s main square and forms its focal point. It was built in the second half of the 16th century. An 18th-century fountain stands beside the square. These two dates place the church and fountain in different centuries, giving the village centre two specific points of cultural and historical interest.
The parish church’s main altar is an 18th-century Baroque altarpiece featuring Solomonic columns. The term describes the columns’ twisted shape and adds a specific design feature to the dating. The church’s construction and the later altar design thus represent two distinct periods.
Another point of interest along the route through the UngrĂa Valley is the Ermita de la Soledad. It is said to have been blessed by the Bishop of Bizerte on 10 February 1634.
Hiking Trails and Wayfinding
Route RCGU-39 through the UngrĂa Valley passes through the municipality of Valdesaz (Brihuega). On the descent from Valdesaz to the valley floor, it passes the Fuente de la Fuentecilla. The route description thus links the municipality to a specific waypoint on the descent.
As of December 2024, one of the five information boards for the valley’s marked hiking trails was located in the village centre. The board relates to several marked trails, while RCGU-39 identifies a specific route with a described section. This distinction helps separate general hiking information from the course of a particular route.
Landscape and Birdlife in the Valle del rĂo UngrĂa
The protected Valle del rĂo UngrĂa is a narrow valley carved out by the river. Its landforms include palaeochannels, or former river courses, tight meanders and deeply incised ravines. The valley also has deciduous Portuguese oak and riparian forests, as well as evergreen holm oak forests. These river landforms and different forest types occur together across the wider landscape.
Wildlife is also seasonal: during the breeding season, the protected valley has territories and regular sightings of birds of prey such as golden eagles, peregrine falcons, eagle owls, booted eagles, short-toed snake eagles, goshawks, sparrowhawks and common buzzards.
Valdesaz MTB Editions
The Prueba MTB Valdesaz was held for the first time in 2024 and for the second time in 2025. In the second edition, the route split at the Senda del Arroyo del Nacimiento; the short course was 31 kilometres long and had 630 metres of elevation gain. These distance and elevation figures refer to the short course in the 2025 edition. Check dates for future editions separately if the race is to determine when you travel.
Discover more destinations: Mazuecos, Mondéjar, Fuentelencina, Alhóndiga, Castilnuevo, Humanes, Zaorejas, Molina De Aragón
For the broader travel overview: Guadalajara.
