Maestrazgo, Teruel · Aragón
Sixty kilometres where silence takes the shape of canyon, river and stone
thesilentroute.com
Explore The Silent Route
The most complete resource on the A-1702 — interactive map, stops, history and the full Maestrazgo territory
Go to The Silent Route →Some routes are driven. Others are felt. The A-1702 through the Maestrazgo heartland belongs firmly in the second category. In just 60 km, the Defender crosses open moorland plateaus with horizon-wide skies, gorges carved over millennia by the Guadalope River, stone farmhouses abandoned to time, and medieval villages that seem to grow directly from the rock. No crowds. No rush.
The Maestrazgo also has a gastronomy of its own: Guadalope trout, Aragon lamb (IGP), mountain honey and seasonal game in the area's few restaurants — all local produce, unfussy preparation. This is the route that the creators of The Silent Route call their heartland, and one of our Tier 1 picks: roads that the Defender 110 doesn't just cover, but does full justice to.
Field note
I drove this route in early October and the timing was perfect — vegetation still green but the light already carrying that autumn gold that makes the Órganos de Montoro look like another planet. I did the Ejulve to Órganos stretch at dusk for the first time. Parked by the Guadalope and didn't see a single car for forty minutes. That's the measure of this route.
What you'll find
- Órganos de Montoro — Natural Monument
- Source of the Pitarque River — a spring of legend
- Guadalope Straits — raw rock gorges
- Ejulve farmsteads — untouched rural architecture
- 60 km along the A-1702 — virtually traffic-free
- Wildlife: griffon vulture, otter, mountain goat
- Mountain gastronomy: trout, lamb, local honey
- Ideal for 2–3 nights based in Villarluengo
On the road
- Duration
- 2 days
- Distance
- 60 km
- Terrain
- Mixed
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Best season
- Spring and autumn
Gallery
Suggested itinerary
Day 1
Ejulve — Route start
Day 1 · 09:00Starting point. The stone farmsteads around Ejulve set the tone from the first kilometre — centuries-old rural buildings that silently narrate the life that existed here before rural depopulation took hold. The A-1702 begins here: open moorland, horizon-wide skies, and the first bend that changes the mood of the journey.
Estrechos de Valloré
Day 1 · 10:00Limestone gorges of the Guadalope with wooden boardwalks — 30 min walk, flat and family-friendly. One of the many surprises the A-1702 holds just off the main road: the river has carved a narrow gorge here that only makes sense from the inside.
Órganos de Montoro — Natural Monument
Day 1 · 12:00Park at the road and walk down to the riverbank — the scale only makes sense standing underneath it. Best light: late afternoon. The Guadalope has sculpted over millions of years a formation of limestone needles resembling the pipes of a monumental organ. Declared a Natural Monument in 2010, no photograph does the reality justice. For those who want to go further, the spires also draw experienced climbers to multi-pitch traditional routes.
Source of the Pitarque River — Natural Monument
Day 1 · 14:30Short detour off the A-1702. 5 km trail each way from the village — spectacular in October with autumn colour. Bring water. Along the path, the river wells up directly from the rock in a natural chimney. The richness of the surroundings — trout, otter, river crayfish, griffon vulture, mountain goat — makes the stop a nature experience in its own right. Declared a Natural Monument in 2009.
Villarluengo — Route base
Day 1 · 18:00Ideal base for 1-2 nights — the mirador at golden hour is unmissable. The village, perched on a rocky spur, offers narrow stone streets and views over the ravines that only make sense in person. The area has a gastronomy of its own: Guadalope trout prepared in the local mountain style, Aragon lamb (IGP), seasonal game and mountain honey. Aliaga market — a few kilometres away — is the provisioning point if you're travelling with the Defender's cool box.