Peña Cortada Aqueduct Route

Traveling the imposing Roman aqueduct of Peña Cortada

Approximately an hour's drive from the city of Valencia, a spectacular work of Roman engineering awaits us, which will leave us speechless and which we can visit thanks to the Peña Cortada aqueduct route. This Roman aqueduct, whose remains extend 26 km, has its most spectacular area between the municipalities of Chelva and Calles. It is in this section where tunnels carved into the rock and vertiginous bridges await us, all surrounded by a natural landscape of great beauty.

How to get to the Peña Cortada Aqueduct

There are several possible routes that allow us to visit this place, although in reality it is a single route with different starting points and different possible distances. We can visit the Roman aqueduct of Peña Cortada from the town of Chelva or from the village of Calles, we can also do a circular route of just over 12 km. We can also go to one of the car parks that leave us at a short distance from the aqueduct, thus considerably shortening the distance to be covered.

Aqueduct of Peña Cortada from Chelva

To get to the town of Chelva we have to follow the CV-35 road that connects the city of Valencia with Tuéjar. Once in Chelva we can park our vehicle there and follow the markings of the PR-CV 92 footpath. Or we can follow the signs that we will find in the middle of the road and that will take us to the bullring of the town and from there to the Peña Cortada car park, thus avoiding a long stretch along a dirt track.

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Peña Cortada Aqueduct from Calles

The town of Calles can be found by following the CV-35 road, just before reaching Chelva, if you are coming from Valencia. Once there we have two possibilities, the first is to park our vehicle and continue on foot to the aqueduct, following the markings of the PR-CV 92. And the second is, from the hermitage of Santa Quiteria, to approach the car park of Torre Castro with our vehicle, passing under the road that brought us here, thus saving us approximately 15 minutes of walking. The latter is the one described in this guide to visit the Roman aqueduct of Peña Cortada.

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Itinerary of the Peña Cortada aqueduct route

From the Torre Castro car park to the Peña Cortada car park 2 km

As we already know, the PR-CV 92 trail follows a circular route of about 12 km in total, passing not only through the aqueduct section, but also through Calles and Chelva, and even shares a part of its route with the Chelva Water Route. Our starting point for our route is the car park of Torre Castro (0h 00min), just 2 km from the hermitage of Santa Quiteria, in Calles. From there we continue along the track that brought us here, following the PR markings, to enter the Rambla de Alcotas. The path gives way to the path that runs through this beautiful area, leading us to a bridge that allows us to cross to the other side and begin to gain height.

We continue along the route until we reach another viewpoint, from where we can already see Peña Cortada. There, in addition to the views, the aqueduct and the first tunnels that we are going to walk through await us. This part of the aqueduct is conditioned both to facilitate access and to favour its conservation. We walk through the whole area interspersed with tunnels and open stretches with magnificent views. Almost before we know it, we reach the famous Cat's Cave Ravine Bridge, built in the 1st century. Although it has no handrails, it is wide enough to cross it in the middle without major problems. After crossing it we start the descent to the parking place of Peña Cortada (0h 40min). From there, in our case, we only have to return to the Calles car park, as long as we do not want to continue the route to Chelva, some 3.5 km further on, along the path marked by the PR that leads to the town.

Coordinates UTM Datúm WGS84

Profile of the Peña Cortada Aqueduct Route

Cartography

This schematic with the path is approximate and has been created from the derived cartographic base © Instituto Geográfico Nacional "Cuadrante 666-2 y 666-4 1:25.000".