Doña Inés – Holiday apartment between hiking trails, nature and culture

Around Doña Inés, extensive hiking trails, an unusual landscape and a multifaceted local history come together. The Ruta de Senderismo El Tornajo is a 12 km circular hiking trail near Doña Inés, passing through an area where nature and cultural experiences are closely intertwined.

Hiking and cycling

The Ruta Circular Cerro Pocico is a 7 km circular hiking trail for families in Doña Inés. It begins at Plaza de Doña Inés and passes cereal and almond-growing areas, Fuente del Pocico and Estanque de Doña Inés. A longer route for mountain bikes is the Ruta MTB Peña María y Sierra Melgoso: the circular route near Doña Inés is 43.5 km long.

This mountain bike route ends at Estanque de Doña Inés. There, a grey heron can occasionally be observed fishing. The route also passes through the Las Vaeras wetland. It is home to diverse and unusual vegetation with protected flora, which is of particular importance because of its rarity and vulnerability.

Nature

Cerro del Tornajo near Doña Inés features gypsum-rich steppe areas, volcanic hills and rich biodiversity. On the hike at Cerro del Tornajo, thousands of butterflies of various species can be observed, especially in spring, provided that drought does not prevent this.

Cerro del Tornajo also has great hydrological significance, with the Ramblas Prado Jerez and Clavijo, the Don Juan Pedro and del Pocico springs, the de la Vareas spring and the El Tornajo aquifer. At Cerro del Tornajo in the pedanía of Doña Inés, a municipal initiative protects a total of 920 hectares of natural area with high ecological, landscape and heritage value.

The immediate surroundings of Doña Inés are characterised by extensive dry-farming areas with vineyards and olive groves. Cerro del Tornajo lies along the “Caminos del Sol” and “Ruta del Argar” hiking routes and is an important location on the Camino de Santiago route starting from Lorca.

Culture

The local history includes traces from very different periods. Stone tools found on the terraces of the Turrilla River near Doña Inés have been dated to approximately 120,000 to 95,000 BC. The Iberian settlement of La Tejerita dates from the period between the 6th and 1st centuries BC. A visible religious reference in the village is the Ermita de San Isidro, dedicated to Doña Inés’s patron saint, San Isidro.

The patron-saint festivals of Doña Inés in honour of San Isidro include a Cucaña, a traditional Verbena, processions of San Isidro and the Virgen del Rosario, as well as performances by Cuadrillas. A special local tradition is the Noche de la Pava, la Vela y el Candil. During it, all electric lights in the village of Doña Inés are switched off; the night is spent with music and dancing by candlelight and around fires.

Fuente de los Cantos and the area behind the Molino are considered good vantage points for watching the sunset in Doña Inés. Visitors can also visit craft workshops to learn more about local handicrafts.

Getting there

Doña Inés is 34 km from Lorca and can be reached via the road to Caravaca. After La Paca, take the turn-off to the right towards Cehegín; after approximately 4 km, turn left towards Doña Inés.

Further destinations

Other destinations in the same area include Las Moreras, Ricote, Cartagena, Los Zancarrones, Hoya Hermosa, El Algar, La Palma and El Saladillo.

To the main travel overview: Murcia.