Caravaca working to create a 'green ring' cycle and pedestrian path
The 5-km “Anillo Verde” runs around the central built-up area of Caravaca de la Cruz
Work has been started by the Town Hall of Caravaca de la Cruz to create a “green ring” around the Holy City, consisting of a pedestrian and cycle path of over 5 kilometres running around most of the built-up area.
The budget for the project, which comes to 342,000 euros, has been financed entirely from European funds and includes the street lighting for the second section of the “Camino del Huerto” to the area commonly known as “Las Lápidas”, as confirmed by council dignitaries this week during a visit to the bridge over the Mayrena irrigation ditch, which has been built of wooden decking.
Mayor José Francisco García reiterates that the infrastructure will include natural and monumental areas such as the Palacio de los Uribe and the popular beauty spot of Las Fuentes del Marqués, while at the same time encouraging a less sedentary lifestyle among residents of Caravaca. The landscaping element of the path includes new plants and gardens, and the different kinds of illumination are being chosen to fit in with their surroundings.
Signposting and street furniture such as benches are also being installed, as are two recharging points for electric bicycles, each with a capacity of 10 bikes at any one time.
The route of the “Anillo Verde” includes various stretches alongside the irrigation channels of San Jerónimo and El Nevazo, known as the “Caminos Rojos”. It begins at the old Murcia road, crossing the new bridge to the Palacio de los Uribe (Museo de Fiesta and Welcoming Centre for Pilgrims during this Jubilee Year), the firefighters’ HQ, the Buenavista area, Mayrena, El Copo, Fuentes del Marqués and then the stretch which links the Camino de Mayrena with the Camino Viejo de Archivel, ending at Argos. In future it is envisaged that it will be lengthened to begin at the old railway station.
For more local information, including the Holy Jubilee Year as well as local news and what’s on, go to the home page of Caravaca Today.
Address
Calle De Las Monjas, 19, 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZTel: 968 702424 / 968 701003
Oficina de Turismo de Caravaca de la Cruz
More information about the places of interest which can be visited in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, along with what's on and local news can be found in the Caravaca Today.
Caravaca de la Cruz, in the north-west of the Region of Murcia, is one of only 5 Holy Cities in the Roman Catholic world, a centre of pilgrimage, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liebana, and is home to the Cross of Caravaca, the Vera Cruz.
The status of Holy City was bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, granting the City a Permanent Jubilee year every 7 years for perpetuity, the first one held in 2003 and the next in 2024.
The strategic and natural advantages of Caravaca de la Cruz have attracted the attention of settlers for more than 800,000 years, the Cueva Negra yielding remains of Homo Heidelbergensis, forbears of the Neanderthals and the municipality also houses important archaeological remains from the Argaric, Iberian and Roman cultures. many of these can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum.
As a border town caught between the Catholic forces of Castille and the last remaining Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, Caravaca had a turbulent medieval history, but it was during this period that the legend of the Cross of Caravaca was born, bringing the religious orders which shaped the structure of Caravaca today, with its impressive hilltop castle and eclectic collection of churches and monasteries, religious tourism today being a backbone of the town´s economy.
Caravaca de la Cruz is a municipality with important natural resources, including extensive forests, part of which have protected status due to their wealth of flora and fauna, and due to the abundant water supplies is also a major area for canned fruit production, apricots in particular being an important crop.
Caravaca is renown for its important May Fiestas, held in honour of the Vera Cruz, which also incorporate the Moors and Christians celebrations and the Running of the Wine Horses.
Caravaca de la Cruz is also the home of Europe´s largest collection of ethnic instruments at Barranda, the Museo de Música Étnica Barranda and is the location of the Barranda festival de Cuadrillas, which celebrates the Region's ethnic music traditions.
The municipality is home to around 26,000 inhabitants and sahres boundaries with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Puebla de Don Fadrique in the province of Granada and Vélez-Blanco in the province of Almería.
Opening times:
Weekdays: 10.00 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Saturdays: 10.30 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Sundays and public holidays: 10.30 to 14.00
Click for map, Caravaca de la Cruz Tourist Office
