Ricote Valley: A stunning hidden gem in Murcia Spain

After almost twenty years of exploring Spain, Ricote Valley stands out as one of the highlights for me. Not only is it an absolutely stunning part of the country, but it is also calm and serene despite its central location just an hour from Alicante.

Most holidaymakers have not heard about these villages set on the banks of the Segura River, nor the Region of Murcia. When my father bought an apartment here, I made it my mission to discover as much of this underrated region as possible.

And that is how I stumbled upon a picture of the blossoming in Cieza and, from there, learned about Ricote Valley, known for its lush citrus and olive groves, Morish architecture and spectacular nature.

Ricote Valley itinerary

Starting from the south, here’s a quick look at what you can see and experience in the beautiful Ricote Valley. Which, by the way, is a must on any Spain Bucket List.

Archena

We got an early start and arrived at our first stop in Archena at around 08:00 am to make sure we had enough time to explore the entire valley in one day.

Archena is famous for its thermal baths, Balneario de Archena, which have been in use since Roman times. We took some time to wander around the grounds and marvel at the architecture, including the old casino and Virgin of Health Hermitage (19th century).

I recommend sitting down for a coffee at La Terraza de Termalium if it is open; the terrace is just so beautiful with all the palm trees.

From there, we headed into town and walked around for a bit, looking at the Church of San Juan Bautista (18th century) and the Palace of El Parque Villarías, while waiting for the tourist office and Museo de Archena to open.

The museum, showing Archena’s history through archaeological remains from the first settlers, is housed in a modern building that stands in big contrast to the traditional village.

There are many walking and hiking routes surrounding Archena, including “Ruta del poeta Vicente Medina”. I also recommend hiking up to the beautiful viewpoint “El Ope – Mirador Oeste”.

Villanueva del Río Segura

After a 7-minute drive, we arrived in Villanueva del Río Segura, a small village known for its agricultural produce, particularly citrus fruits, first settled by the Romans in the 4th century BC.

There isn’t much to see in the village itself other than the Church of La Asunción, built in the early 19th century in Neo-Classical style. We then walked down to the river bank, crossed the La Huerta Vieja and walked up to El Golgo, a former electricity generator now used for fishing and summer bathing.

There’s also a beautiful viewpoint southwest of the village called El Mirador de la Ermita. And a little further west, you’ll find Mirador de Franco.

I recommend finding a parking spot in either Villanueva del Río Segura or the next village, Ulea and explore both on foot. It takes about 15 minutes to walk between the two.

Ulea

Set at the foot of a tall ridge, the contrast between the lush river valley and the arid mountains becomes very visible in Ulea. The Moorish heritage can still be seen in its layout, fountains, waterwheels and water storage cellars.

The most interesting attractions are in my opinion the Church of San Bartolomé, built between the 12th and 15th centuries, and the House of Eiffel. Yes, I’m talking about that Eiffel.

A merchant from Ulea, who sold citrus fruits in Paris, met Gustave Eiffel at the market. He recommended Archena Spa as a remedy for Eiffel’s joint pains. The engineer followed his suggestion and later ended up building a unique red house in Ulea.

You can also walk up the ridge to Mirador del Corazón de Jesús, a viewpoint with a large white Jesus statue. If you continue all the way to the top, Pila De La Reina Mora, you’ll be rewarded with views across the entire valley.

After a few hours of walking between the two villages, I really enjoyed our lunch at Bar Reina Mora.

Ojós

It took us only 5 minutes to drive to the next and my personal favorite village in Ricote Valley, Ojós. It is the smallest town in Murcia, characterized by narrow streets and whitewashed houses. The Church of San Agustín is a notable landmark, and don’t forget to taste the popular Drunken Cake.

I highly recommend walking the route that goes from Salto de la Novia at the entrance of the town to the Solvente Dam at the exit. You’ll cross bridges and walk through lush citrus orchards.

Puente Colgante and Puente Tibetano are two of my favorite bridge crossings in the valley. The views from here with mountains and palm trees in the background are just stunning.

Ricote

The namesake of the valley, Ricote has been home to nobles for centuries, including the last Mudéjares (Muslim people) of the Kingdom of Murcia until their expulsion in 1614.

Today, you can marvel at stately houses bearing the shields of noble families, the 18th-century church of San Sebastián, and the last remains of a Los Peñascales castle.

This is also where you can see the oldest olive tree in the Region of Murcia and the 7th in Spain. It is called Olivera Gorda (Olivo monumental on Google Maps) and is thought to be 1,400 years old.

For me, the highlight of Ricote was just outside the village, a viewpoint called Mirador Casa Forestal La Calera. Just take a look below.

Blanca

Our next stop was Blanca, where the ruins of a 12th-century castle towers above the town. The reason I had been looking forward to this stop was because of Mirador Alto de Bayna, one of the most beautiful viewpoints I think I’ve ever seen.

Abarán

Although archaeological remains from the Bronze Age exist, along with a bullring and the medieval Church of San Pablo, the five waterwheels (norias) are Abarán’s main attraction. In fact, it is the Spanish municipality with the biggest number of working waterwheels.

We started the waterwheel route in Parque de las Norias, where there is parking along the street. I loved walking along the scenic riverbank paths, crossing over bridges, and noticing some of the smaller norias and the many palm trees.

The first “Norias” dates back to Moorish times, when they needed a system to get water to irrigation channels on higher agricultural land (which still produces vegetables and citrus fruits today).

Noria Grande, built in 1805 and reconstructed in 1951, is the biggest waterwheel in Europe. It measures almost 12 meters in diameter and elevates 25 liters of water per second.

Cieza

The photo that brought me to Ricote Valley in the first place was of the annual blossoming called Floracion de Cieza. Between February and April, Cieza celebrates one of nature’s greatest shows when fruit trees such as plum, peach and almond cover the valley in a blanket of pink and white.

I have written a complete guide to Floracion de Cieza here.

Cieza is also home to one of the most important sites of the Western Islamic world Medina Siyâsa, dating back to the 11th-13th century. You can still visit the inside of its houses to see how its people used to live.

In Siyâsa Museum, you can see archeological artifacts from the Paleolithic period until the Andalusi period, including life-sized reproductions of two houses of the medina.

🍷 Pro tip >> If you’re a wine lover, end your day at Bodega Tinaha, a small winery working to recover vineyards on the north side of the Sierra de La Pila. They still make wine like in Roman times, using clay jars.

I’m a nervous driver, but even I have hired a car many times from Alicante Airport and driven all over Murcia without problems. And in Ricote Valley, although some of the roads are narrow, traffic is very calm.