Discover Bello: Laguna de Gallocanta, Nature and Culture

Bello lies south of Laguna de Gallocanta, considered one of Europe’s most important wetlands and the largest natural lagoon on the Iberian Peninsula. Around the town, the landscape forms a mosaic of cereal fields, small hills and the lagoon.

Nature

The Laguna de Gallocanta Interpretation Centre is located in a stone building on the road between Tornos and Bello. It includes a viewpoint overlooking the lagoon and a car park. Near Bello, the centre provides an interactive and comprehensive overview of the reserve and the natural phenomena that occur there.

At the reception and visitor services point, an environmental educator provides information about regulations, opening hours, hiking trails and observation sites.

Getting Around

The PR-Z 33 Laguna de Gallocanta - Los Lagunazos is a circular route around Laguna de Gallocanta near Bello. It is 30.6 kilometres long, starts 2 kilometres from the Laguna de Gallocanta Interpretation Centre and ends there.

The route is designed for travel by car or bicycle and can also be walked. Most of the route follows unpaved tracks; the final section runs along the road between Bello and Tornos. Six birdwatching sites are accessible along the PR-Z 33 Laguna de Gallocanta - Los Lagunazos.

The length, modes of transport and trail surface provide different points of reference for classifying the circular route according to its scope and type.

Culture

The Iglesia de la Natividad de la Virgen de Bello is a Gothic church transitioning to the Renaissance and dates from the last third of the 16th century. Its single-nave body ends in a polygonal apse; it also has side chapels, masonry walls and a ribbed star vault. The tower has four storeys, is decorated with Isabelline-style stone balls and contains bells from the 15th century.

The main tower of the Castillo de Bello is rectangular, 15 metres high and features a pointed-arch entrance, a noble coat of arms in its upper section and loopholes. The Torreón of the Castillo de Bello has origins dating back to the 13th century and belonged to a larger castle that played an important role in the conflicts between Castilians and Aragonese in the 14th century.

The Ermita de la Trinidad dates from 1621 and is a 17th-century masonry building. It contains notable altarpieces, including a triptych of the Holy Trinity. The rectory buildings and the Ermita de Santo Domingo are an example of 19th-century civil architecture.

The fountains of Campillo, Latorre, Paridera Nueva and Milano, as well as the Aljibe de la Atalaya in the municipality of Bello, have rims and troughs made of large ashlar blocks.

The second edition of the Jornadas Celtíberas Virgen de la Cabeza in Bello was organised by the Asociación de Mujeres de Bello. This edition included a commercial area where local craftspeople displayed and sold their work.

Other places: Alobras, Tronchón, Teruel, La Iglesuela Del Cid, La Puebla de Híjar, Mountains, Gea De Albarracín, Montoro De Mezquita

Bello can be reached via the A-23 motorway as far as the Calamocha exit, followed by the A-1507 road.

Back to the higher-level travel overview: Teruel.