Stage 12: Alarcón - El Picazo

This new stage of the Júcar Nature Trail begins in Alarcón, on the cemetery road, although it soon changes to a pedestrian path descending through pine trees to Chinchilla Gate, which served as the access from the south to the walled enclosure of Alarcón. After passing through the gate, we leave the pine trees behind and continue descending through a rockier area almost devoid of vegetation with the remains of the Alarcón wall on the left-hand side.

The pedestrian path leads to the El Picazo bridge, a masonry bridge of medieval origin that crosses the Júcar gorge. Once on the other side of the river, a continuous ascent begins where the traveller can look back and enjoy the beautiful panoramic views of the village of Alarcón and the gorge of the river. After almost a kilometre of ascent in the company of kermes oaks, holm oaks, junipers and junipers, you leave the river canyon for good.

The footpath leads to a wide dirt track in a westerly direction. From this point on, the route heads away from the river for almost 9 km.

. After 750 m along this track, you reach a crossroads where you take another track on the left in a south-easterly direction. From the front, you could continue along the PR-CU 71 path, returning to Alarcón, to the north of the town (in fact, this is a circular path that shares the same route as part of this stage of the Nature Trail).

We’ll stay on this new track for the rest of the stage, so the orientation is not complicated, needing only to avoid all the junctions. The landscape for the next few kilometres will consist of slightly undulating terrain alternating between a mixed Mediterranean forest dominated by pine and holm oaks, and areas of crops, either cereals or trees such as almond trees.

After passing by some farm buildings, the track starts to descend again in search of the river Júcar. After a little more than 1 km, we reach another of the milestones of this stage when we cross over the Tajo-Segura water transfer canal. Despite its name, this immense engineering work also uses part of the course of the river Júcar, from the north of the Alarcón reservoir to this point, where the water is re-channelled.

Once we cross the canal, the slope becomes steeper for a few hundred metres, entering the Júcar valley again, although in this section it is no longer so steep. Almost at the river plain, you reach a hydroelectric power station, and the dirt road becomes asphalted.

The route takes a south-westerly direction, leaving the Júcar on the left and passing through a pine forest through which, due to the proximity of the river, some trees typical of gallery forests, such as poplars and ash trees, can be seen. After passing by the Castillejos weir, the asphalted track passes under the A3 viaduct and the tree-covered vegetation gives way to a largely cultivated area. This will be the landscape until we reach El Picazo.

The village is entered from the north, and the first thing to catch the eye is the chimney of an old oil press. Just before reaching the chimney, take the road a left. The route goes through the streets of El Picazo, passing through the Plaza Mayor (where the palace-house of Ruiz de Monsalve is located) and next to the church (a temple whose construction dates back to the 16th century). The route leaves the old quarter of El Picazo along the Avenida de Juan Carlos I, ending this stage next to the N-310 road.