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: Tourist Office
The tourist information office in Totana is the first port of call and can provide leaflets, maps and information about what to visit. This is also the booking point for guided visits and visits to the La Bastida archaeological site and can provide information for groups wishing to book outside normal opening hours.
Sierra Espuña Regional Park
This forested 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 leading up to a magnificent viewing point high above the town. This is one of many spectacular panormaic views in the mountains.
- 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.
- 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 Via Crucis, or drive to the top of the Via Crucis to admire the magnificent views . Take a picnic!
- Visit the Pozos de nieve or snow wells and see how ice was made before freezers and fridges
- Visit the Ricardo Codorníu Visitors Centre.
La Bastida archaeological 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 (over 4,000 years ago) in the west? This is what researchers are trying to establish...
The site is still under excavation and there are weekly guided visits. Tours can be arranged for larger groups at other times. Information boards are in English.
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!
- Totana has some unusual churches, but most are only open for mass. Pick up a map from the tourist office and try to see the following as you walk around: 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.
- Stop off for a coffee and/or tapas in the 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 walkway sits alongside a peaceful café with shaded seating.
- Head up into the Sierra Espuña and Sanctuary of Santa Eulalia, continue past the sanctuary to the fortified town of Aledo or stay down at the level of the town and pick up some bargain ceramics along the road to Alhama.
What to buy and try in Totana
- Ceramics have been made in the town for centuries and there are several potters still working 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!
- 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 with 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 into the town. This popular drink fortifies the locals during their journey!
- Almonds are also a local crop and bargains can be found 1 kilo bags.
- Santiaguitos 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 paprika and ultimately, “tortas de pimiento molido”, a popular bread flavoured with ground red pepper.
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 Murcia, 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. Migas are very filling and are very popular in cool or rainy weather, but order a small dish to leave a little room to try something else!
- Embutidos, the sausages and delicatessen products created following the slaughter of a pig; morcilla blood sausages.
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. They are both huge events, with thousands of people joining in, following which eating, drinking and merrymaking are the order of the day.
Carnival, Three Kings, local fiestas and Semana Santa are all major events, and there is an extensive programme of cultural events throughout the year.
For more information about the municipality of Totana go the Totana section of Murcia Today.
