Gorge trails: El Batán, El Morrón and El Corciolico

The Town Hall suggests three trails that start from the village. The Batán heads towards La Gila along the top of the valley and returns up the river bed, with the best views of the gorge. The Morrón is a circuit: it follows the valley edge to the hamlet of Tolosa and returns beside the Júcar. The Corciolico climbs the slope to Casas del Cerro and descends through steep ravines.

The route sheets for each trail published by the Town Hall, with point-by-point descriptions, give the distances and times below. They date from 2013: the terrain or the waymarks may have changed, so ask for the map at the Tourist Office before setting out.

El Batán, 13 km

It leaves the CM-3201 road going up Calle Batán. The first stretch is the hardest: a zigzag path, with a steep gradient and loose stone, through an Aleppo pine wood, until the castle is below you. At the top, in the El Almendro area, the route levels out among almond trees, olives and vines along the edge of the great Noguera ravine, with stone huts and pens that serve as shelter if it rains. At 5.6 km you reach the hamlet of La Gila, with a fountain below the water tank.

From La Gila comes the prettiest part: a long descent down the slope, among kermes oak, juniper, box and rosemary, with the river winding below and the Tolosa dam in the distance. You cross the Júcar by the reservoir bridge, enter Tolosa and return to Alcalá by the Vereda de Tolosa path, beside the river and under rocky ledges; the route sheet warns of possible rockfalls. It ends at the Cultural Centre after about 13.1 km and a little over three hours without stops.

El Morrón, 14.7 km

It leaves from the castle along a very steep cobbled path towards the water tank and the hamlet of Las Eras. It skirts the valley along the edge of the plain, passes the El Morrón survey point, 693 metres high, which gives the route its name, and descends to Tolosa by the old carriage road, cobbled and zigzagging. The last stretch to the hamlet is heavily worn away by erosion. The return shares the riverside path with the Batán. It is about 14.7 km and a little over three hours.

El Corciolico, 4.5 km

The shortest. It leaves from the river beach, next to the municipal swimming pool, and climbs a path with steps in the rock and a zigzag stone-wall track up to Casas del Cerro, with a fountain beside the tank. It returns past threshing floors and almond trees and descends in zigzags along the edge of the Noguera ravine, with views of Alcalá, to a viewpoint on the road. It is about 4.5 km and a little over an hour.

Before you set out

All three cross the CM-3201 road at some point: do so with care. Take water even though there are fountains in the hamlets, and avoid the hot hours in summer, because the climbs are in the sun. For mountain biking, the municipal website suggests the Tranco del Lobo route towards Villa de Ves, of medium difficulty, and a long, demanding 63 km route to Fuentealbilla. To rest afterwards, the Casas Rurales Olmeda are beside the river, and in Tolosa, halfway along the Batán and the Morrón, is the Avenjúcar Restaurant.