'Salto de la Novia' natural area
`SALTO DE LA NOVIA´ NATURAL AREA
If there is one place to visit in Navajas, it is the `Salto de la Novia´ Natural Area, a space of singular beauty due to its geological characteristics, the flow of the river Palancia and the riverbank forest vegetation that accompanies the whole environment. It has created an ecosystem where flora and fauna appear in exuberant form, together with the constant flow of fountains and waterfalls that transform the place into a pleasure for the senses.
Man has always been captivated by this place, which was originally chosen as a place to live by the inhabitants of the valley some 4000 years BC.
Nowadays, the environment is used for leisure and relaxation and many visitors come to this place throughout the year, mainly in summer to enjoy one of the most beautiful corners of the interior of the province of Castellón.
KNOW THE LEGEND – `SALTO DE LA NOVIA´ LEGEND
It is said that in the river, the inhabitants of Navajas, when they were going to get married, gave proof of their love in front of family and friends, jumping the river from bank to bank. They loved but they had to prove it according to tradition. In one occasion, the bride was jumping when she slipped and fell into the river, her beloved went looking for her and they were both engulfed by the turbulent waters of the raging river, drowning downstream. The locals say that on moonlit nights you can hear the laments of lovers who were unable to fulfil their dream of being together. Since then, the Brazal waterfall cries for them like a torrent of tears.
A strong man carrying a woman in his arms passes her from one bank of the river to the other, which bears a strong resemblance to the straits of the river Palancia as it passes through Navajas. The costumes of the characters correspond to the end of the 18th century. They are typical of the region for this period: trousers knotted below the knee, shirt, stockings and espadrilles for the man, and the woman in a skirt, tablecloth and hair tied up in a bun.
Goya came to Valencia in the summer of 1790 for his wife’s health, to whom sea bathing was recommended. During this stay he was appointed a member of the San Carlos Royal Academy of Fine Arts, which brought him into contact with the painters José Camarón de Segorbe, then head of painting at San Carlos, and Luis Antonio Planes. The relationship was short but they knew each other and perhaps the famous painter was able to meet the painter from Segorbe and know this narrow part of the river. The story of the legend of the `Salto de la Novia´ may have inspired the painter to create this drawing, which fortunately has been preserved.
Abrigos, ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE AREA
There are a series of shelters that are shallow and sheltered cavities, which were used in prehistoric times by the man who inhabited these lands. One as a necropolis during the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) and others as a temporary shelter or sheepfold for livestock in the Bronze Age around 4000 years ago.
The archaeological sites are located in the rock shelters of the well-known `Bora de las Peñas´, forming the earliest known sites of human occupation in this area. The caves have created whimsical shapes and hollows, some of which were used by the humans who inhabited these lands in the 2nd millennium BC.
The description of these remains found in the three shelters and the materials can be seen in the display cases of the Segorbe Archaeological Museum.
THE CLOCK CAVE
It is an individual burial cave, in which Bronze Age ceramic remains were found. The site has been almost razed to the ground by successive entrances to the cave.
RASCAÑA I AND II
These are two open-air settlements, where handmade pottery from the Bronze Age has been found, together with fragments of pottery made on a potter’s wheel from the Iberian period, all of them on the surface. No structures have been preserved and they have been completely destroyed by natural erosion and anthropic action.
THE `BORA´ OF THE ROCKS
It is a natural monument created by nature with a high landscape, natural and geological value. It was formed 2.5 million years ago from a process of slow erosion of the surrounding mountains and the deposition of chemically altered silt due to the precipitation of calcium carbonates from contact with fresh water from the Esperanza spring, resulting in a crusted platform composed of porous limestone rock known as tosca.
The vertical cut of the canyon, popularly known as `Bora de las Peñas´ in the Salto de la Novia area, was created as a result of the continuous erosion produced by the falling water from the spring, which anarchically sought its spillway, pushed by the inclination of the rocky platform. The height above the riverbed is around 50 metres above the river at the highest point.
GEOLOGY OF THE AREA
Palancia Depression morphostructural unit
In the area known as `Huerta de Navajas´, we can observe a slightly concave erosion platform with glacial morphology, with a slope of around 6%, which occupies a small area in a very specific area, which is completely fossilised by a crust whose deposits originated in the first Quaternary stage.
The concentration of aquifers that form part of the rich groundwater outcrop, especially the Esperanza spring, which acts as a drainage for the Jérica-Alcublas subsystem, although it is also fed by other contributions, possibly from the Javalambre subsystem, but due to the complexity of the aquifer it is difficult to determine the interior extent of the same.
The waters of the Esperanza Spring favoured the formation of a vast platform of calcareous tuff on which Navajas and its lands lie. The origin of the calcareous tuff formations, popularly known as `tosca´, was formed by the chemical precipitation of calcium carbonates in contact with fresh water, resulting in a porous limestone rock.
The `toscas´, mainly calcite sedimentary rocks, contain fossilised leaves and branches, mixed with the composition of the sediments themselves, a fossilised organic silt.
The vertical cut of the canyon known as ‘Bora de las Peñas’ was created by the erosion of the waters that anarchically sought its spillway due to the inclination of the platform. The height above the riverbed is 50 metres at the highest point.
ROUTES AND TRAILS
When visiting the Salto de la Novia Natural Area we can walk along the asphalted road, reach the bathing area, learn about the legend that you can read on the information sign, enjoy the Brazal waterfall and the `Bora de las Peñas´ and return to the access control area. The short paths allow the visitor to enjoy several places with great charm, walking a few meters you will know these sources that are born on the right bank of the Palancia river in the place.
VIEWPOINT OF PARADISE, `TIO JUAN´ WATERFALL
We start by walking up some stairs through the water that falls down the waterfall, until we reach a natural balcony or viewpoint, from where we can see the bathing area and the Salto de la Novia. It is a unique setting, where the lushness, freshness, abundance of water and views give visitors a feeling of relaxation and close contact with nature. The waterfall takes its name from the former owner of the land donated to the municipality by the ex-mayor Juan Torres.
PATH OF SOLITARY REFUGE
This is an out-and-back path. It starts at the Fuente de la Luz bridge and turns to the left. We will reach a stone path to cross the river from where we can see the Peña fountain. We will then enter a stretch of authentic riverside woodland. We can enjoy its varied vegetation, to reach an open space with a small natural shelter where the path ends. It is a little-travelled path that takes us into a world of adventure and dreams.
ANCIENT BRIDES´ PATH
We take it after passing the bridge next to the `Fuente de la Luz´ on the right. It is a path full of small, solitary corners, places where we can look out over the river, have a swim or simply enjoy the peace and quiet.
PATH OF THE LAST KISS
It starts at the Mosén Miguel fountain and takes us from there to the Salto de la Novia and to the foot of the waterfall. We can get close to the waterfall, and even dare to go under it if there is not much water falling and reach the source of the Curso.
RIVERSIDE WOODLAND TRAILS ROUTE
It starts where the sign explaining the Legend of Salto de la Novia is located. Follow the direction in which the river flows towards Segorbe. Ascend a few metres and follow a detour to the right that descends along a rough path until you reach the path on the left bank. On the left, on the mountainside, you will see the remains of a canal that is no longer in use. It corresponds to the last metres of this conduction that starts at the Regajo Reservoir, built in 1959 by the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation, which was intended to solve the problem of water for irrigation of the market gardens of Sagunto. The canal was not completed and the transported water was poured into the river past the `Barchilla´, following the remains of the construction until it reached the riverbed. Before reaching a small ravine that descends from Rascaña, turn right to go up a stretch and continue parallel to the course of the river again, until you come to a path that leads to the Morón bridge that crosses the Palancia river and returns to the Bride’s waterfall on the right bank. We pass under the Ermitaño cave, so called because at least two hermits lived in this cave. One called Juan Romero who died in 1639 and the other Jaime Ramo who died in 1726 at the age of 87, both were buried in the parish church of Navajas to which they left wills for their souls.
Today it is inaccessible due to the detachment of the staircase carved into the rock that used to lead up to it. The path climbs up past a leafy fig tree that leads to `Nueva´ irrigation channel. From this point onwards, the irrigation channel and the path continue parallel until you reach the `Barchilla´ or `Barsella´, a medieval weir that was built to dam and divert water to Segorbe. Privilege granted by the Queen of Aragon: ‘I, Maria de Luna, Lady of Segorbe and Queen of Aragon, in this year of 1401, grant to my city and in perpetuity, the water rights of the river Palancia, in the amount that can pass through a Barchilla´.
