Valareña between a Settlers’ Village, Church and Bardenas

Valareña is one of six settlers’ villages founded between 1958 and 1970 within the municipality of Ejea de los Caballeros. Its modern history is linked to the arrival of water from the Yesa Reservoir. The first irrigation works revealed saltpetre in the soil and led to the redrawing of the settlers’ plots.

Culture and History

The colonisation plan of Valareña is laid out longitudinally around a central east-west street, with separate squares for the church and the civic facilities. The Paseo de Aragón connects the Plaza Mayor to the east with the Plaza de la Iglesia to the west. The bell tower forms the visual end of the Paseo de Aragón and Calle de Medio Mundo.

The Church of Valareña has semicircular brick arches inside, supporting a roof covered with Arabic tiles. The lower friezes of the apse and the rear area are decorated with ceramics from Teruel. Its windows are fitted with alabaster, allowing daylight to enter.

The Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Bardena stands on a hill at the foot of the Bardena Negra, halfway between Valareña and El Sabinar, west of the CHE-1501 road. A pilgrimage takes place there at the beginning of June, attended by the residents of the six settlers’ villages. Valareña also celebrates the Fiestas de San Miguel Arcángel in honour of Saint Michael the Archangel.

Landscape and Nature

Fossils of Tertiary origin occur among the stones used to build Valareña. In the wider regional area, the Bardenas Aragonesas are an ecological reserve of approximately 10,000 hectares with dense vegetation and diverse wildlife, particularly bird species.

Routes and Regional Discoveries

The Bardenas Aragonesas Visitor Centre is located in Valareña’s former school building at Calle Enseñanza 2. It provides information about the fauna, flora, geology, settlement, traditions and history of the Bardenas, as well as information about possible routes and hiking trails. In Valareña, it is intended as a point of reference before entering this natural area.

The Sendero de la Negra climbs to Punta de la Negra, the highest point in the Bardenas. The trail leads to a geodetic survey point in a small wooded area overlooking the plain of the Cinco Villas. The Sendero de la Negra is a circular hiking trail of approximately 10 kilometres; access is by car via the A-125 towards Tudela, then to Valareña and the Acequia de Cinco Villas. The “Vuelta al Rincón del Bu” route ends in Valareña.

Rice Fields and Local Character

A tourist experience includes visiting the rice fields and the facilities where Valareña’s rice is produced.

Other places: Casas de Esper, Munébrega, Aniñón, Torres De Berrellén, Ainzón, La Almolda, Fuentes De Ebro, Grisel

To the main travel overview: Saragossa.