What to do · Cabo de Gata
Rodalquilar and the Ruins of Its Gold Mines
Information
- Price
- Free from outside
- Duration
- 1 h 30
- Season
- All year
- Who it's for
- Families
Rodalquilar is the former mining village of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar natural park, in the bottom of a volcanic caldera that opens to the sea at El Playazo. Gold was sought here from 1880 to 1990. The abandoned installations still stand on the slope above the village, and walking among them, with the valley at your feet, is the best way to understand why the park is a UNESCO Global Geopark.
From ore to ingot: the Denver plant
The piece you can see from all over the valley is the Denver plant, a cyanidation plant of American technology that the Empresa Nacional Adaro started up in 1956 to treat the ore from Cerro del Cinto. The Junta's leaflet explains the process: the ore was weighed and emptied into hoppers, conveyor belts carried it to the mills, it was mixed with water to form a fine paste and passed to tanks where cyanide dissolved the gold; from the washing tanks came the rich mixture that was turned into ingots in the precipitation building. The stone stairs and the large circular tanks you see today are those tanks and those halls.
The Cerro del Cinto trail
To walk it in order, the Junta has signposted the Cerro del Cinto trail, in its short version: 4.4 km circular, an hour and a half, low difficulty, on track and path, with 92 metres of height difference. It starts next to the park's administrative office and the Rodalquilar exhibition hall, where there is parking for more than twenty cars; the panel is about 25 metres away.
The path begins beside old spoil heaps now covered in vegetation, passes beneath the Denver plant and climbs the Rambla de las Yeguas and old mule tracks of the Abellán mines, among abandoned farmhouses, cultivation terraces and remains of mining buildings. From the upper part you see the volcanic caldera of the valley with the plant below and El Playazo in the distance. There is a long variant that goes round the whole hill. There is no shade and some stretches of stony dry watercourse: wear shoes with a firm sole.
What not to do
The Junta asks you not to leave the path because of the risk of falling into mine shafts and galleries, which cannot be visited. With children, keep them close at the edges of the tanks.
The Casa de los Volcanes
In the former Foundry House is the Casa de los Volcanes, the interpretation centre for the park's geology, with a room devoted to Rodalquilar and a model of the Denver plant, another of volcanoes and a mineral collection. Its opening hours are not published regularly: ask first at the Las Amoladeras Visitor Centre, on 950 16 04 35. If it is closed, the ruins can be seen just as well from outside.
Afterwards, El Playazo is a few minutes by car, with the castle of San Ramón beside the sand. To eat in the valley, Alacena Azul, in the Hotel de Naturaleza Rodalquilar, is open to the public. Rodalquilar is the first stop of the Sunday with Rodalquilar, La Isleta and kayaking.
Tips
- Go late in the day The heat eases and the low light gives relief to the ruins above the valley.
- Shoes with a firm sole The trail crosses stretches of stony dry watercourse.
- Continue to El Playazo It is the nearest beach, wide and easy.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to pay?
No: the ruins and the trail are free.
Can you go into the mine?
No. The galleries and shafts cannot be visited and the Junta asks you not to leave the path.
How much time is needed for the Rodalquilar mines?
An hour and a half for the Cerro del Cinto trail in its short version, plus a visit to the village.
Where do you park to go to the Rodalquilar mines?
Next to the park office and the Rodalquilar exhibition hall, with room for more than twenty cars.
As a familyWith teenagers
