Through the fruit orchards of Cieza, an image that will remain in the retinas (and in the image galleries) if you walk through it during the flowering period at the end of winter.
Hiking and cycling itinerary following the old railroad route between Cieza and the border with Calasparra, through an environment of fields and fruit trees, with the main attraction of the flowering in spring, and with the possibility of connecting with the Chicharra Cieza Greenway and other routes.
This greenway has been conditioned by the Regional Ministry of Presidency, Tourism and Sports of the Region of Murcia.
Activities linked to the flowering of its fields and fruit trees. Northern gate of the Region of Murcia is a good place to explore the Ricote Valley.
Cultural heritage:
Numerous museums (Siyâsa, Molino de Teodoro, Esparto, Holy Week, Folklore), monuments and points of interest (Basilica of the Assumption, Convento de San Joaquín, Saint Bartholomew's Chapel, Food Market, Chapel of the Holy Christ, Balcony of the Wall, ditch of the Andelma).
Infrastructure: 1 bridge.
Accesses:
Start: Los Barreros traffic circle access to the Greenway: from Cieza, this point can be reached by taking the initial section of the Chicharra Cieza Greenway, and then, after passing over the A-30 highway, along the 3.5 km signposted Itinerary Connecting Greenways.
Intermediate accesses: Plaza Canthal and streets León, Fuendetodos, Proyecto, Virgen del Pilar, Submarino, Salvador Alonso Martínez...
End: Víctor Veltri avenue (North Ring Road). Next to the Mandarache shopping center.
This greenway, the last to be put into service in 2023 in the Region of Murcia, starts at the La Corredera reception area, place where the new variant of Camarillas is separated from the old railway.
From Cieza you can reach this point by taking the initial section of the Chicharra Cieza Greenway, and then, after passing over the A-30 motorway, by the Route of Connection between Greenways signposted about 3.5 km.
The greenway goes gently up to the old La Macetúa station, about 4 km away, where a rest area has been set up. This station offered service mainly to the workers of the farms located in this area, such as La Campana, La Esperanza, La Carrichosa or La Macetúa. In front of the station, on the top of a small hill, is the viewpoint of La Macetúa, one of the best places to contemplate with great amplitude the fields in bloom and the landscape. To the north you can see the Sierra de Cabeza del Asno, and to the south the spectacular Almorchón mountain.
One kilometer further on, the greenway passes over the bridge over the Galán ravine. Along the way there are some level crossings, water wells or abandoned huts. However, there is no trace of the old Puerto Herrado halt, which was located around kilometer 8.4 of the route.
The Cieza Flowering Greenway ends, after almost 10 km, in the reception area of Las Cañadas, where the tracks continue towards Calasparra station. From this point you can take a path that connects (after crossing with special care and attention the RM-714 road) with the Ecotourism Itinerary of El Picarcho, which connects us back to the Chicharra Cieza Greenway, thus being able to complete an attractive circular route of almost 40 km.
Cieza and its Flowering fields
Cieza, Northern Gate of the Region of Murcia, is the natural capital of the region of the Vega Alta del Segura. It has numerous museums (Siyâsa, Molino de Teodoro, Esparto, Easter, Folklore) and monuments and points of interest (Basilica of the Assumption, Convento de San Joaquín, Saint Bartholomew's Chapel, Food Market, Chapel of the Holy Christ, Balcony of the Wall, ditch of the Andelma). Also well known are its festivals (Easter, Fiestas del Escudo) and more and more activities related to the Flowering of Cieza.
At the end of winter there is the visual spectacle of flowering that attracts many visitors to visit the flowering fields of Cieza. Unlike other places, where there is only one type of tree, in Cieza there is a great variety: most of them are peach trees, but there are also plum, almond, apricot, flat peach or nectarine trees, which bloom more or less at the same time.
As each tree has its flower, the countryside presents a tapestry of multiple shades: the pink and red colors belong to the peach trees, according to their variety; mixing with the white of the plum and almond trees, and the pink of the apricot tree, and the green of the fruit trees already in bloom. Although the flowering can be appreciated from many places, from the green way that takes its name and in the surroundings of the road RM-B19, that unites Cieza with Calasparra, are the widest landscapes in flower.
To contemplate this explosion of nature, viewpoints have been set up in different areas of the municipality. In addition to the aforementioned La Macetúa (next to the greenway), we can highlight those of El Olmico (the closest to the city), La Torre (on the other side of the Segura river) and El Soto de la Zarzuela. Next to the latter is the The Bloom Visitor Reception Centre, located in a renovated former rural school, which opens its doors during the weeks of flowering and has a rest area, toilets, exhibition and guided tours. More Info>>
In addition to being surrounded by mountains and bathed by the Segura river, it also offers the possibility of active tourism and adventure activities such as river descent, via ferrata, canyoning, hiking, mountain biking, climbing and various routes.
Text: Tourism Institute of the Region of Murcia.and the Spanish Railways Foundation.
The origins of the "Chinchilla-Cartagena" railroad line between Calasparra and Cieza in the Region of Murcia date back to 1851, when the engineer of the Port of Cartagena D. José Almazán proposed a controversial 'Mediterranean Line' from Madrid to Cartagena, with branches to Valencia and Alicante. Finally in 1859 it was decided that the railroad to Murcia and Cartagena would start in Albacete, starting from the Madrid-Alicante line. Its construction was carried out by the Compañía de Ferrocarriles de Madrid a Zaragoza y a Alicante (MZA), and the complete line was inaugurated on April 27, 1865, with a total of 240 km from Chinchilla (Albacete) to Cartagena (Region of Murcia).
The railroad provided the backbone of many Murcian municipalities, such as Calasparra and Cieza, and represented a great advance for the region. Thanks to it came the telegraph, revolutionized passenger transport and generated greater industrial activity. In 1941, with the nationalization of the Iberian gauge railroads, the line passed into the hands of Renfe. In the sixties of the last century, with the improvement of road transport, some stops and stations fell into disuse.
Finally and after many years of waiting, in 2019 the "Camarillas bypass" came into railway service to eliminate the tortuous passage next to the reservoir. This meant the abandonment of about 17 km of the old track - owned by Adif - between Agramón (Hellín) and Cieza and the closure of the Calasparra station, mainly designed to provide an outlet for mining in the area.
In 2022, the tracks in the municipality of Cieza were removed in order to carry out the works of conditioning as a greenway carried out by the Regional Ministry of Tourism of the Region of Murcia.
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CONDITIONED GREENWAY
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