Murcia is an underrated region with some of the most beautiful views I’ve seen in Spain. I recommend visiting for a day hike or longer backpacking trip along the coast.
Algezares: La Fuensanta
Murcia has 19 natural areas and seven regional parks, including Carrascoy y El Valle. The park is large and has lots of great hiking paths and areas, but a visit is not complete without a stop at the sanctuary at La Fuensanta. The best way to access this area (without a car) is to take a bus from Murcia to the pueblo of Algezares and then hike toward the sanctuary.
Cartagena: El Monte Roldán
Cartagena is an awesome area in general, with everything from Roman ruins to expert diving. From Monte Roldán, you can see for kilometers along the coast of Cartagena.
Algazares: Cabezo Gordo
This one is a little tricky to get to if you don’t have a car. My friend and I had to take a bus to his village, Dolores (about an hour outside of Murcia-Central) and then ride bikes for about 30-45 minutes to reach the park at the foot of the mountain. The mountain itself isn’t very large, and it won’t take long to summit. There are several trails with larger caves at the top and an elaborate cave system underneath the mountain, complete with bats and underground ponds. Make sure you mark where you are so you don’t get lost. Also, this area is good for rock-climbing and bouldering as evidenced by climbers we spotted throughout the hike.
El Camino de Caravaca de la Cruz/ El Camino de Levante
Spain is famous for its holy pilgrimages like the Camino de Santiago. However, Murcia has its own holy road, El Camino de Caravaca de la Cruz, which technically begins in Orihuela and ends in Caravaca. The route has several branches and I was able to join a group of teachers to hike two of them: from Mula to Bullas (about 21 km) and from Bullas to Caravaca (another 21 km.)
Mula to de Bullas
Bullas to Caravaca de la Cruz
This hike was significant because 2017 was the Año Jubilar, which is celebrated every seven years, and Caravaca is one of the five holy cities in the world that participates, along with Jerusalem, Rome and the Spanish cities of Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liébana. According to some Catholics, if you finish this route and make it to the church at Caravaca de la Cruz, you will be blessed and reconciled with God. Since I’m not Catholic, I’m not sure if I qualify, but it was fun bonding with the other teachers and seeing the distinct countryside of the Murcia region.
Bullas: Salto de Usero de Bullas
When we stopped in Bullas after completing our first leg of the Camino de Caravaca de La Cruz, we visited the Salto de Usero, a natural spot with waterfalls. Water from the natural springs joins to form the River Mula creating two small pools at the bottom of a gorge. People can swim and relax near the water.
Cabo Tiñoso : Cuestas del Cedacero – Barranco de Bocaoría – Bateria de Castillitos – La Azohía
Probably one of my favorite hikes in Murcia to date, my friend Ania and I could hardly walk a few kilometers without stopping to freak out about how beautiful the views were. This hike was about 19 km long and takes you through several medieval ruins as well as former gun batteries where you can still see the canons that were used to defend Cartagena’s military arsenal during the late ’20s and early ’30s. The hike brought us to the seaside village of La Azohía, right as the sun was setting and reflecting on the water and fishing boats in the harbor.
I have to give a huge shoutout to Grupo Senderista de Murcia who helped facilitate two of these hikes, the group of teachers who invited me to walk the Camino, and friends from Spain, the Dominican Republic, the U.S. and Poland who were nice enough to give up their Sundays to hike 12+ miles with me.