The Zafan Greenway by bicycle follows the route of an old train that no longer exists. As in other similar cases, the Greenways program of the Spanish Railway Foundation converted its route into a greenway. The Val del Zafán Railway never ran entirely along the initial route, but some trains did run until 1973 along the Terra Alta section. The first project to connect the port of San Carles de la Ràpita with the Teruel town of La Puebla de Híjar by train dates back to 1863.
The route of this greenway presents an exuberant variety of mountain landscapes: It crosses the Matarranya region, runs parallel to the Parc Natural dels Ports de Beseit, crosses the Serra de Pàndols and finally descends from the Ports to the Ebro.
In this link you can see a video about the route of the TV3 program “Tiempo de Aventura” that basically follows the itinerary we will follow with the exception of the start in Alcañiz.
We will stay in a hostel in Arnes in double rooms on half board basis with dinner on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday included. Meals on Saturday and Sunday can be taken in one of the old railway stations that are equipped with picnic areas, bars and restaurants.
Duration: 2 days
Departure at 7:30 am from Barcelona. We will start the cycling tour in the town of Valdealgorfa in a first stage that will cover much of the Aragonese territory and the beautiful region of Matarraña. This first stage of about 40km will have two small sections of unevenness with a very smooth and cyclable profile. We will pass through some tunnels that are equipped with light, although it is preferable to carry a flashlight in case of incidents. Crossing the Matarraña river we will begin a gentle slope to overcome about 150 mt that will take us to Cretas and later in the old station of Arnés from where we will deviate to this population. There we will find an unbeatable viewpoint als Ports de Beseit behind the Renaissance palace that houses the town hall with a spectacular porch.
From Arnés we will visit the Estrets d’Arnes, a canyon closed by the high walls of conglomerate typical of the Ports where the Estrets river flows forming attractive meanders and crystal clear pools. Return to Arnés.
The second stage runs parallel to the Ports Natural Park and the Serra de Pàndols to Tortosa. Practically the entire stage in gentle descent and flat in other sections. We will cross the Serra de Pàndols and we will see some interesting gorges formed by the river Canaleta. Near Benifallet we will find the spectacular flow of the Ebro river. We will leave for a moment the via verda to enter Xerta to admire the Ebro river from the same bank and we will continue gliding to Tortosa between the river and the orange groves.
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Zafán Greenway by bicycle
