15th of January
Another classic route for the beginning of the year – the ascent to Pico Espadán. We will start from the pretty village of Aín, pass by its castle and head up to the main peak to get the best views of Sierra Espadán natural park.
Pico Espadán
We’ll meet in Valencia in the parking lot on av. Aragón in front of Mestalla stadium and drive to Aín. Once there, we’ll have a cup of coffee on a terrace of a bar before starting the hike.
The route starts from the village and very quickly we will get to the castle of Aín. We’ll make a short stop here to explore it and continue the ascent. After a couple of kilometers, the gradient gets more gentle with a nice path close to the ridge that will take us to the peak. Once we get to Espadán peak, we’ll stop to rest and have lunch. The descent is done mostly on easier terrain, with milder gradients and paths meandering between cork oaks. After the hike we will have a drink on a terrace and return to Valencia.
Sierra de Espadán natural park is located in one of the most mountainous provinces of Spain – the province of Castellón. It is one of the largest forests in the Valencian Community, located very close to the Mediterranean Sea. A wide variety of native flora and fauna inhabit this ecosystem. Its cork oaks, also called by the locals “Sureres“, are the ones that give the most fame to this natural area. Its forests are flown over by a large community of various species of eagles, and its most prominent inhabitants are foxes, genets, wild boars and badgers.
The view from the top is spectacular: Alto Palancia, Alto Mijares, L’Alcalatén and Penyagolosa standing out on the horizon, La Plana Alta and almost all of Plana Baixa. From here we can get an idea of the dimensions of the Serra d’Espadà Natural Park. The peak of La Rápita to the northwest marks the highest point, at the opposite part to the southeast Peña del Pastor perches on the road from Aín to Almedijar.
Sierra de Espadán – Un Paisaje por Descubrir
Difficulty: medium/high (11.5km with 700m of elevation gain)
Technical level: medium/high (steep ascent to the peak)
Meeting point: Mestalla, parking lot on av. Aragón, 9:30 (return to Valencia ~18:00)
Price: 28 euros (25 euros signing up by Thursday, 13.01) / 11 euros coming to Aín.
The price includes professional guide, transportation, accident and public liability insurances.
Bring at least 1l of water, lunch, warm clothes and hiking shoes.