SL-TE-22: C.I de Dornaque, Barranco de las Tajadas, Pena del Hierro

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Geological Significance · Historical Significance · River/Creek · Views · Wildlife

Centro de Interpretacion Dornaque is open only on weekends and holidays during non-summer months. Trail information includes length, difficulty of all available trails. Town of Albarracin is nearby, visitor center has other trails for that town. Camping allowed in specific areas in Pinares de Rodeno, and outsude Albarracin.

This trail, SL-TE-22, is one of 11 hikes in the Paisajes Protegido de los Pinares de Rodeno, part of the network of Senderos Turisticos de Aragon. The trailhead is across the street from the parking lot of the Centro de interpretacion de Dornaque (near Bezas, near Teruel). The trail is clearly marked throughout.

The first quarter of the trail follows a year-round stream through a canyon, with lots of long grass, trees, high rock cliffs. It then meanders through several meadows that include an interesting sculpture trio related to (we think) the Spanish civil war. There are three cave paintings with interpretive panels in Spanish, along with two modern sculptures to mirror the cave paintings.

The trail continues through an area of rock scramble and narrow clefts, up to a fabulous viewpoint. Footing is easy on the sandstone rocks. Past the halfway point, the trail loops around interesting and fantastical rock formations covered with multicolored lichens in an exciting display of colors and patterns, and through beautiful pine forest.

The last portion of the trail is a long downhill rock garden firebreak strip with many examples of Liesegang ring geologic formations (concentric circles in rock formed through chemical weathering).