Jaraba: Canyons, Nature and Cultural Heritage

Jaraba stands out for two striking limestone canyons: the Cañón del Río Mesa and the Barranco de la Hoz Seca are limestone gorges with vertical walls more than 100 metres high. Those wishing to combine nature, activity and culture can experience Jaraba through its landscape, hiking trails and historic sites.

Nature

The municipality of Jaraba includes 3,064.37 hectares of the Natura 2000 network in Aragón; the area is protected both as a ZEPA (Special Protection Area for birds) and as an SCI (Site of Community Importance). The area is home to a significant colony of griffon vultures, as well as golden eagles, Egyptian vultures, peregrine falcons and eagle owls.

A natural viewpoint in Jaraba offers views of the promenades of the Serón and Sicilia thermal baths, as well as the beginning of the Mesa River gorge. To suit different daily rhythms, nature, trails, climbing and culture can be considered as separate focal points.

Hiking and Geology

The GR-24 is catalogued as an Aragonese tourist hiking trail and connects Jaraba and Calmarza along the Mesa River on a 6.86-kilometre, moderately difficult linear route.

The geological site “Cañón y manantiales del río Mesa y termalismo de Jaraba” offers an easy three-hour route and can be reached via a paved road with a bus parking area.

The limestone walls of the Mesa River gorge between Jaraba and Calmarza offer opportunities for sport climbing as well as shorter artificial big-wall routes. For your own planning, the length, duration and difficulty of the different route profiles can be considered separately side by side.

Culture

The permanent Eustaquio Castellano exhibition and toy library for paper cut-out toys in Jaraba displays hundreds of paper toy pieces and constructions and is intended for family visits.

Jaraba’s ethnographic heritage includes traditional sheepfolds and livestock shelters built in the rock caves of the Barranco de la Hoz Seca. Some of these structures have been restored and equipped with elements explaining the cultural heritage.

The rock paintings of Roca Benedí in the Barranco de la Hoz Seca in the municipality of Jaraba (Zaragoza) were discovered in 2009, are more than 7,000 years old, belong to Levantine art and are considered the westernmost site complex of this style on the Iberian Peninsula.

The Iglesia de la Transfiguración del Señor is classified as a property of architectural significance and was built in the 16th century.

The sanctuary at the entrance to the Barranco de la Hoz Seca stands on a rocky outcrop; its spacious church was built in the 18th century over an earlier chapel located in a rock niche.

This information helps you match your own schedule and desired conditions with the various options available.

Other places on the same higher-level page are Pozuelo de Aragón, Épila, Talamantes, Calcena, Daroca, Alborge, Tauste and Ateca.

For the higher-level travel overview: Saragossa.