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Sierra de Alcaraz Greenway Nature Trail
Description
Part of the old railway line between Baeza and Utiel, which was actually never used by trains, is used now by cyclists and hikers who, thanks to the Sierra de Alcaraz Nature Trail, where this greenway is integrated, may enjoy the landscape of Castile-La Mancha by a comfortable route that covers a little over 55 km through the province of Albacete.
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The Sierra de Alcaraz Nature Trail starts in the city of Albacete and crosses the agricultural regions of La Mancha among canals, poplar patches, old tunnels, lagoons and wild berry trees. After crossing a shrub area near Balazote, the trail comes near the lagoons of Arquillo and Ojos de Villaverde and reaches Alcaraz, a town with a monumental historic centre. The Nature Trail continues from Reolid, until it reaches the Albacete provincial boundary. There it connects with Segura Nature Trail in Jaén, which also uses the old Baeza-Utiel railway.
Thus, the plains of La Mancha, covered by both wastelands and agricultural fields, Mediterranean scrub areas and hills, form the beautiful landscape across which runs the Sierra de Alcaraz Nature Trail, which not only passes by natural monuments such as the Arquillo lagoon, but also by historical and artistic monuments such as the archaeological site near Balazote, where one of the most important Iberian statues, the Best of Balazote, was found; since 1910, this sculpture may be admired in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional, where it is exhibited together with the Lady of Baza and the Lady of Elche.