Sightseeing – The Countryside of the Region of Murcia
The countryside of the Region of Murcia is very varied, coastline, broad fertile valleys and mountains are all accessible and easy to explore.

The Mar Menor Area
This area is known as the market garden of Spain and it’s rich soil and irrigation techniques mean that the Spanish can grow pretty much whatever they like here. Salad vegetables as well as oranges and lemons are the main crops but there are also areas of almond groves and even cotton. This area is predominantly flat and is like a bowl flanked by the mountains of the Sierra de Carrascoy (a protected regional park) and the Calblanque regional park and open to the Mar Menor and Mediterranean sea to the West. There are quite a few windmills in the area and these were used predominantly for irrigation though a few were used for milling cereals and some even used for crushing salt. At the north end of the Mar Menor is the Salinas regional Park which is a wildlife refuge protected because of it’s importance as a stopping off point for birds as they migrate from Africa to Europe. There are trails and hides here where you can watch the unusual birds, you will normally see flocks of flamingos here much of the year.

Inland Murcia

The North East
From the city of Murcia inland the motorway Madrid (A-30) takes you through the heart of the region. This is fine if you need to save time, but you will by-pass the old route which passes through the Ricote Valley. Also known as the Valle Morisco (Moorish Valley) due to the fact that it was the last hold-out of the Moors in Spain. The river Segura gas made this a lush and almost unknown area of Murcia, with a fertile landscape of palm trees and soft fruit orchards (peaches and apricots etc).There is a visitor centre in Archena which is a good place to start as it is the location of a large natural hot spring and spa. The route links several small villages ( Villanueva, Ulea, Ojos, Ricote, Blanca, Abaran and Cieza), and ends near Calasparra, a small village famous throughout Spain for it’s rice which is grown in paddy fields next to the river. Further North is Jumilla and Yecla which is a major wine producing area with vineyards lying in the valleys between the mountains.

The North West
From the city of Murcia the A-415 runs alongside the sierras bypassing the villages of Mula and Bullas. Initially it travels through a region of “badlands” type terrain where you would expect to see Clint Eastwood riding in a Fistful of Dollars. However nearer to Mula this starts to change and the countryside becomes more undulating with pine trees, vineyards and soft fruit orchards. The motorway ends at Caravacca de la Cruz but continues as a normal road looping back to Lorca.

Further south is the Sierra Espuna natural park. A beautiful area crossed by a spectacular road with stopping points where you can get out and enjoy a walk along one of it’s many dedicated trails, a mountain bike trail or even mountain climbing.

So as you can see, the Region of Murcia has a lot of variety, from the coast to the mountains and pretty much everything inbetween.