Stage: Ojos Negros - Santa Eulalia

The stage begins in the Sierra Menera mines. Specifically, beside the two large hoppers that were used to load the ore into the wagons that headed for the Port of Sagunto where, after processing in the blast furnaces, they would begin their final journey across the Mediterranean Sea.

After leaving behind the rest area beside the mining hoppers, the journey begins like a steam locomotive which, after a little more than a kilometre, arrives at what is known as the Barrio del Hospital, one of the six miners’ villages that were built around the mines as the workers’ place of residence. In this case, as its name suggests, this is where the medical services were located, including radiology services and the doctor’s residence, among others.

To the traveller’s right, there are real mountains of ore waste produced over the years when these mines were worked, providing a unique landscape that stands in stark contrast with the silence and calm that pervades today.

When you reach the second kilometre in this stage, you can spot on the left what was and still is the largest of the villages built to house the workers of the Sierra Menera mine. Known as Barrio del Centro, it had various services, including a church, a casino, a commissary and a swimming pool. It is currently inhabited with a hostel that is open to the public that pays homage to the mine and the mining railway with a monument to the railway between Ojos Negros and Sagunto and an original locomotive (Orconera) including a hopper wagon.

On returning to the itinerary, and after passing kilometre point 4, you will reach the old Ojos Negros station, beside which you will find the old train depot and a new mining village, this time in a state of ruin and abandonment. In the same direction, on leaving the route of the Nature Trail, just on the other side of the TE-V-9025 road, you will see what was once the luxurious complex known as the Management House of the Compañía Minera de Sierra Menera (Management House of the Sierra Menera Mining Company). Here were located the dwellings and offices of the most senior officials: engineers, administrator, etc.

Returning to the Nature Trail, the stands of holm oaks (Quercus ilex) alternate with rain-fed cereal crops and, after kilometre six of the stage, hikers will reach the interpretative panel that invites them to visit the village of Villar del Salz.

In this village you can enjoy two hermitages: Santa Águeda and Santa Bárbara, (both of which are outside the village itself) as well as the church of the Assumption and, lastly, its spectacular four-storey council building. Built in the 19th century, it is topped by a clock and bell and has the peculiarity of being the narrowest in Teruel.

Returning to the Nature Trail route, cross the TE-V-9023 road over an elevated bridge. Little by little, you will leave behind the panoramic views of Villar del Salz, while the natural vegetation gradually takes over from crops, especially on the right of the route, where the steepness of the relief has prevented the land from being tilled.

With continuous and easy pedalling for those who wish to cycle the route, you will reach kilometre point 12 and the village of Peracense will come into view. Metres beyond this, there is an interpretative panel at the road junction, a clear invitation to the traveller to visit the aforementioned village.

Peracense is on the left of the old railway route. It is a particularly beautiful village with the church of San Pedro, where both the church and some of the houses were built with a reddish sandstone that is very abundant in the area and which lends all the buildings a characteristic tone. But without a doubt, the best example of architecture made with this unique type of stone is Peracense Castle, which almost blends in with the stone of the land itself. Located at the right of the Nature Trail, it is recommended that you visit it before continuing your adventure.

It’s time to continue. Cyclists will continue on their way with the beauty of the red sandstone, which is so abundant in this area, etched on their retina, and it will have become part of that imaginary virtual rucksack where every traveller keeps their memories of every Nature Trail.

Metres after passing kilometre point 14, you will reach the typical signage that identifies the Caminos Naturales (Nature Trails) brand, which indicates to travellers that this is the provisional end of the Nature Trail, as the fitted-out route currently ends at this point. The remainder of the route will soon be upgraded until it connects with the next fully-equipped stage at the former Santa Eulalia station.

Until then, as indicated by another sign at the same point, travellers can continue under their own steam to the old Santa Eulalia station, taking extreme precautions since this option is off the Nature Trail route. As the signs warn, it is 16.5 km from here to the old Santa Eulalia station, on roads and paths shared with motor vehicles, so cyclists must plan their route with all the information supplied by Caminos Naturales and their own circumstances.