THE RICOTE VALLEY ROUTE

View from the valley

The Ricote Valley is situated in the fertile plain of the river Segura. It was the last Moorish stronghold in eastern Spain.

After the fall of Granada in 1492, the Mudéjares continued cultivating the land, in the same way that their ancestors had for centuries before, and they remained there until their expulsion in 1618.


The valley has an appearance of an oasis more than a plain.

The Moorish valley draws together a group of municipalities that run alongside the river Segura from the Contraparada dam in Alcantarilla in the south to the northern limits of Cieza.

The towns of Abarán, Blanca, Ricote, Ojós, Villanueva del Segura and Ulea all lie alongside the river.


The region has an average yearly temperature of 17 degree and the annual rainfall doesn't reach



above 250mm. This means the land is extremely dry and the vegetation will only grow on some parts of the mountanious countryside.

The valley is the land of fruit-bearing trees. Peaches, apricots and plums are the regio's main products. Grapes, oranges and lemons and all sorts of vegetables are also produced, all from the orchard.

It's the only place in the region where traditional irrigation methods are still used. There are irrigation channels, waterwheels, watering cans and dams.













A walk along the Segura river. All, the students and the teachers, paid attention to the explanations given by the guide.

The Big Waterwheel

Here we can see the parts of a wheel: we learn how it works and how the water gets into the irrigation channels to be part of the cultivation process.