Rural Holidays In Spain
Relax and restart
SIERRA DE ESPADÁN, UNSPOILED NATURE JUST OUTSIDE VALENCIA
That Valencia is a fantastic travel destination is known by many tourists. Every day there are many flights and trains from Northern Europe that visit the terraces, the cycle paths and the beaches of Valencia. Even less known, but more than worth it, are the beautiful mountains and nature parks just 45 minutes by car from Valencia. One of these parks is National Park: Sierra de Espadán, where the lively city almost imperceptibly merges into untouched nature and beautiful mountains. The 31 thousand hectare nature park spreads out between Valencia, Sagunto and Teruel and reaches a height of 1,100m.
Besides walking on the many available hiking trails (e.g. Pico Espedán) you can enjoy great mountain biking, cycling, rafting, 4×4 driving, visiting the underground river system in the caves of San Jose and discovering the thermal river of Montanejos in the north. Also the Ojos Negros, the Via Verde cycle route from Teruel to Valencia partly runs through the nature park.
GASTRONOMY
For a gastronomic experience, Sierra de Espadan is also a good place to go. In Altura, a picturesque village next to Segorbe, you will find the well-known restaurant La Farola. In Gaibiel, the restaurants El Povenir and La Mecedora de la Abuela offer authentic Valencian dishes in a beautiful setting. Gastrodisctus in Segorbe also serves you a great multi-course lunch in their covered garden, hidden in a small street near the beautiful cathedral.
After a walk among the cork oaks in Almedijar, a visit to the local cheese factory Queseria Artasana Los Corrales, where the goat and sheep cheeses are matured naturally, is highly recommended. A visit to Bodegas El Celler de la Ibola is also highly recommended.
OVERNIGHT STAY
Masia de Matuta
Since the end of September 2023, Bas and Sara have been the owners of Masia de Matuta in Sierra de Espadán. This Masia, or farm, is located on a 300-year-old olive estate of over 27 hectares. After years of dreaming about their own hospitality business, they came across this beautiful Masia in this beautiful nature reserve in 2023. They immediately fell in love with this special place and quit their jobs, sold their house in the Netherlands and packed their belongings. The ultimate peace (there are no roads near Masia de Matuta) and the beautiful sunsets have already been admired by many guests.
They like to keep the tradition of olive picking alive. In October/November they spend days picking their olives by hand. They do this themselves with some help from people who like to help. A very relaxing activity in nature! The olive oil that is pressed from these olives is also for sale at the Masia.