“Sierra Espuña” Natural Park is one of the natural spaces of Murcia historically protected due to the natural values that it contains. It is located in the geographic centre of the Region of Murcia, surrounded by the towns of Alhama, Totana and Mula.
Sierra Espuña was protected in 1978 and it was requalifeid as a regional park in 1992. It is also protected as a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA), and Site of Community Importance (SCI).
Its landscape is mainly dominated by the pine exemplary, thanks to the planting led by the engineer Ricardo Codorniú, Juan Ángel de Maradiaga y José Musso in the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We also find the typical Mediterranean forest (kermes oak, mastic tree, juniper, black hawthorn, etc.).
The savin juniper and the “nun seat” (padding-looking bush) are species able to grow under harsh environmental conditions, that predominate in the peaks, in a karst landscape. The main peaks “Morrón de Espuña” (1.583 m.) and “Morrón Chico” (1.444 m.) offer an excellent view to the entire mountain and surroundings.
The fauna is rich and varied, it’s not hard to find squirrels, mouflons (wild sheep), wild boars or golden eagles.
Espuña provides the tourist with the opportunity to combine leisure, sport, relaxation and culture. It includes routes for walking or cycling, places to eat and stay, and the “Pozos de la Nieve” (snow wells). Click on “Paths of Sierra Espuña” to see the marked routes in Sierra Espuña.
PLACES TO VISIT
“Ricardo Codorníu” Visitors Centre. An educative centre with a static exhibition about the flora and fauna of the park and public toilets. It’s also the starting point of some of the marked walking routes. Telephone: + 34 968 431 430
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| - Recreative Area “Fuente del Hilo”: parking area, restaurant, marked hiking trails, |
-Recreative Area “La Perdiz”: parking area, restaurant, marked hiking trails, camping area (for entities with a program of activities, with previous authorisation). | |
-Collado Bermejo Viewpoint: located in one of the highest places of the Park. From there you can walk up to the “snow wells”. | |
| -Snow wells: from the sixteenth century until the invention of refrigerators, these buildings were used to store and press the snow and get ice, that was moved to cities as far as Murcia, Cartagena, Orihuela…. You can leave the car at the parking of Collado Mangueta viewpoint and start the path PR-MU 63 to find a couple of snow wells restored. One of them can even be visited. |
-Leiva Walls: Karst landscape and ideal area to practice climbing. | |
-El Berro. High district of Alhama de Murcia. In this little village you will find food store, rural inn, camping, cottages, restaurants… The viewpoint of the Sacred Heart is worthy of a visit. | |
-Gebas. Hamlet next to the Protected Landscape of Gebas (badlands). It also has rural houses, a rural inn and restaurants. Visit its viewpoint. |