Nature Observation Trails

The route begins in the higher part of the village of Alquézar, next to the car park and the municipal swimming pool. We take a street that heads uphill and which soon becomes a footpath leading us to the track (Camino Natural del Somontano). We continue on this track parallel to the “Barranco de Payuala” (Payuala Gully) before leaving it to join the footpath which runs next to the old water channel and crossing the Barranco de Payuala by means of a small aqueduct. We then walk up some stone steps to the “Balsas de Basacol” (Basacol Ponds).

We begin our descent from the Basacol ponds along the opposite bank of the Payuala Gully, keeping between it and the River Vero canyon until we reach the lower part of the village of Alquézar.

Along the route we can observe the contrast between the Mediterranean environment of Holm Oak (mesomediterranean zone) and the Atlantic area of Scots Pine (montane zone) and a transition from limestone in higher areas to sandstone in the lower parts. These contrasts provide the chance to observe a great variety of different species belonging to different climactic zones, from the Holm Oak and the Spanish Juniper to the Scots Pine, Saxifrage and Primrose as well as Rock Tea (Jasonia glutinosa).