Almadenes Canyon

 

This Protected Natural Area, the Almadenes Canyon, is located on the upper course of the Segura River as it passes through the Region of Murcia. It is 9 km long on the Segura River and 2 km long on the Quípar River. Its protected area covers 116 hectares and lies within the municipalities of Calasparra and Cieza.

Its morphological component has created vertical walls more than 90 meters high at some points, as well as numerous chasms and caves, the most famous and visited being the Cueva de la Serreta, with important cave paintings.

The Canyon has a SPA area, being a special protection zone for birds, it has been proposed as a Site of Community Importance and is part of a ZSpecial Protection Area, being included in the Natura 2000 Network, a large network of natural areas on a European scale. 

VIDEO OF CIEZA AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, + ALMADENES CANYON, click here:

 

Within the Canyon, the river is divided at the Mulata Dam, whose purpose is to divert river waters for its use, and from where part of its course is diverted to the Almadenes Power Plant through channels built within the mountain itself, and from where the canyon actually begins. 

In this natural area, we find two archaeological sites. These are two rock shelters carved by the river into the limestone. The Cueva de los Monigotes or Abrigo del Pozo is located on the right bank of the Segura River. On its walls, you can see cave paintings dating back to the Neolithic period. The Sima de la Serreta Cave also preserves important cave paintings and archaeological remains dating from the Neolithic to the medieval Islamic period. Both were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1999. Today, La Serreta attracts a large number of visitors who come to discover this natural wonder.