The small Valencian town of Buñol is known primarily for its uber-hyped Tomatina festival. Actually, that’s not even accurate … outside of Spain, Buñol is known only for this festival. We’ve never been huge fans of watching drunk British people pretend they’re being cultured by smashing tomatoes in each others faces. It’s just not our thing… weird, I know. But what is our thing: traditional Spanish towns surrounded by beautiful nature. And this is what attracted us to Buñol; specifically, the circular trail known as the Ruta de Aguas.
We left Valencia in the morning from the Estación del Norte and arrived in Buñol 75 minutes later. Nestled into the foothills of the mountains surrounding Valencia, at an elevation of 440 meters, Buñol was immediately more beautiful than we had expected, and the perfect setting for some easy hill-hikes. To get to the Ruta de Aguas trailhead, we had to cross through the old town, including the medieval castle. We wanted to get an early start, but couldn’t resist charging up on some baked goods from one of the traditional hornos. Okay, and now another stop for a café con leche… and now we’re ready to begin!
This hike is less than eight kilometers long, and you can probably finish the whole thing in less than three hours, if you keep breaks to a bare minimum. But we encourage you to take your time. Along the way, you’ll pass by various waterfalls, caves, little pools, a gorge and you’ll enjoy amazing views of the surrounding mountains and of Buñol itself. In the summer, you could even take a picnic and spend the entire day along the route.
But in general, we don’t bring lunch with us when hiking in Spain… and that’s because we always try to plan our walks so that we’re done right at 2pm, and can enjoy a menú del día, as our well-deserved reward for all that exercise.
Two hours later, legs tired and bellies full, we were on the train back home for Valencia. For nature lovers, Buñol is a perfect day trip away from busy city life. And you don’t have to have your face rubbed in tomatoes to enjoy it.
From our Travel Blog.
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