Zafrilla

A village on high ground

Zafrilla lies in the province’s far east, above 1,400 metres and very close to Aragón, in the Montes Universales, where the Serranía de Cuenca meets the Teruel ranges. Scots-pine and maritime-pine woods and open plateaux surround it, and part of the municipality lies in the Natural Park and Valle del Cabriel Biosphere Reserve. Houses are stone-built, with pitched roofs for snow; the church is San Andrés. Festivities take place in summer.

It was a livestock village. Around 1850, Madoz counted about 8,000 head of sheep and goats and 400 mares and cattle in Zafrilla, and trade consisted of selling sheep and cattle. The Town Council, with a budget of 2,700 reales, was funded by the bread oven, a flour mill and a municipal pasture.

Routes

Both trails follow the Zafrilla river.

• PR-CU 16 (short-distance trail), Sendero de la fuente del Tejo: 17 km. It leaves over the medieval bridge, climbs a bridle path to El Yesar and follows tracks above 1,500 m to near Morrón Blanco. It descends, crosses the river to the former Collado Verde de Arriba hamlet and returns along the valley to the Fuente del Tejo picnic area.
• PR-CU 113, Ruta cicloturista de Zafrilla: 28 km, intended for mountain bikes. It follows the Hoz narrows upstream, passes the Casa del Cura rento, an isolated farmstead in the hills, a meadow with a shelter, and climbs the Veredilla valley to Alto del Osos, above 1,700 m.

Plan your visit

The village takes half an hour; either trail needs a day.

Before you travel

Both trails exceed 1,500 metres and weather changes quickly: bring water, warm clothing and a map, and check the forecast. With rain, the river rises at the PR-CU 16 crossing.

Combine with

Laguna del Marquesado is 4.8 km away in a straight line, Tejadillos 6.1 km and Huerta del Marquesado 6.7 km.