Recommendations for what to visit in Totana
What to see, what to try and what to buy!
There are three distinct choices for those planning a visit to Totana: around town, La Bastida or the Sierra Espuña, each offering a completely different side of this attractive municipality.
First stop-off: Tourist Office
The Tourist Information office in Totana is the first port of call, and can provide leaflets, maps and further information about what to visit. This is also the booking point for guided visits and visits to the La Bastida Argaric site and can provide information for groups wishing to book outside of normal opening hours.
Click here for Totana Tourist Information Office
Sierra Espuña Regional Park
This wooded regional park offers picnic and recreation areas, several attractive walking routes through pine forests and mountain scrub, includes the beautiful Sanctuary of Santa Eulalia seven kilometres from the town centre, and a 1 kilometre long sculptural Vía Crucis which leads up to a magnificent viewing point high above the town.
Suggestions:
- Park at the sanctuary or in the El Grifo recreation area and walk either the PR-MU 64, which is a 7 km walk or cycle ride or the PR MU 65 a 2.6 kilometre walk to Aledo.
- Take a stroll around the gardens of the sanctuary and visit the beautiful chapel with its extraordinary murals.
- Park in the El Ángel recreational area carpark and walk the 2.4 km circular route around the sculptural Via Crucis or if you have limited mobility then drive to the top of the Via Crucis to admire the magnificent views out over the surrounding countryside. Take a picnic. During the winter months this is the only area of the Sierra Espuña in which fires can be lit and the BBQ points used for cooking, so make a paella over an open fire or cook up a few sausages!
- Visit the Pozos de nieve or snowhouses and see how ice was made before the advent of freezers and fridges
All of these activities can be enjoyed at your own leisure any day of the week.
The Sierra Espuña spreads into other municipalities; Aledo, Alhama de Murcia, Pliego and Mula, which can all be accessed from different points of the region. Click for more information about the Sierra Espuña and the Ricardo Codorníu Visitor Centre
La Bastida Argaric site
This is a hugely important Argaric archaeological site and was once a walled settlement with fortifications, covering a substantial area and home to a culture which still holds many secrets.
Where did the Argarics come from and how did they build these fortifications using technology which is unknown at this period in the west?
The site is still under excavation and can only be visited with a guide at the weekends. Tours can be arranged for larger groups at other times. This is well worth visiting if you have an interest in history or archaeology and information boards are in English.
Click for more information about visiting La Bastida
Totana town tour
The centre of Totana is a pleasant place to explore, enjoy a coffee and shop.
- The weekly street market is on a Wednesday, so although the town is busy, this is always an enjoyable day to visit as there are plenty of fruit and veg bargains to buy, as well as other local produce.
- Totana has some unusual churches, but most are only open for mass. Pick up a map from the Tourist Office and put a ring around the following, which can all be seen on a walking route around the centre of the town; Iglesia de Santiago, Capilla de la Milagrosa, Ermita de San Roque, Casa de las Contribuciones, the Fuente Juan de Uzeta and the Arco de Ollerías which runs over the rambla, alongside the oldest remaining ceramic workshops in the urban town.
- Stop off for a coffee and a bit of tapas in the central Plaza de la Balsa Vieja which has several bars, or alongside the beautiful Iglesia de las tres Avemarías, one of the best kept secret corners of Totana where an attractive shaded walkway sits alongside a peaceful café with shaded seating.
- Afterwards, head up into the Sierra Espuña and Sanctuary of Santa Eulalia, continue past the sanctuary to the fortified town of Aledo or stay down on a level with the town and drive towards Alhama de Murcia to pick up some bargain ceramics from the manufacturers dotted along the main road.
What to buy and try in Totana
-Ceramics. These have been made in the town for centuries and there are several potters still working in the town today. This is the place to come for personalised street and house plaques, for unique gifts painted with your own message, for tile panels painted with unique designs or pots for the garden, and some workshops will even allow you to paint your own designs! Click for more ceramics info.
- Shoes. Totana is traditionally an area with shoe manufacturers.
- Local foods. Honey is produced in the foothills of the Sierra Espuña and is used to flavour mantellina, a sweet liqueur which also includes aniseed and lemon. You may find this on sale in some bodegas, but if you want to try it with the locals, then participate in the annual romería in which the image of Santa Eulalia is carried on a 7 km journey from her sanctuary into the town. This popular drink fortifies the locals during their journey.
Almonds are also a local crop, so you will find local greengrocers selling bargain almonds in 1 kilo bags, and you’ll also find santiaguitos, which are a sweet pastry made using ground marcona almonds.
Oranges and lemons are widely grown in the outlying areas of the town and Totana is the largest producer of table grapes in the region.
Totana also produces large quantities of small red peppers which are dried to make a ground red pepper, and ultimately, “tortas de pimiento molido”, a popular bread flavoured with ground red pepper, which is eaten throughout the year as a breakfast or picnic bread, or on special family occasions. It’s on sale in virtually every baker in the town.
Dishes to try
The gastronomy of Totana is based around its traditional agricultural cycle, and staple Murcian dishes such as rice cooked with rabbit and snails (arroz con conejo y caracoles) is found on many daily menus, as are a wide number of variations using rice (arroz) with seasonal ingredients.
Migas is everywhere in the Murcia region, a calorific combination of flour and olive oil, crisped into breadcrumbs in a large frying pan. Served with “tropezones”, which can be bits of fried meat, fish or vegetables, this was cooked over an open fire by farm workers and is still made at every fiesta across the region by the peñas, who gather to enjoy the company of friends. You’ll often find Migas on offer in tapas bars, and as it’s very filling, order a small dish to leave a little room to try something else.
All types of “embutidos” are also popular, the sausages and delicatessen products created following the slaughter of a pig; morcilla blood sausages are to be found in every butcher, sweetened with onions, pine nuts and mildly spiced, along with other types of sausage. Try sobrasada in Totana, a meaty paste served with bread and local olive oil.
Don´t miss out on the big parties of the year!
Totana is well known for its annual Romería with the image of Santa Eulalia, who descends from her sanctuary on the December 8 and then returns on the January 7, each leg a 7 km journey during which she is carried by volunteers. Each of these two days are huge events, with thousands of people joining in the journey, following which eating, drinking and merrymaking are the order of the day.
In addition, Carnival, Three Kings, local fiestas and Semana Santa are all major events, and there are several sets of local fiestas in the outlying districts of the municipality, as well as an extensive programme of cultural events throughout the year.
Click for more information about Totana fiestas
See the dedicated Totana section for full information about the municipality of Totana
