Hanging bridges of Chulilla
In the municipal term of the town there is a great attraction to be able to practice a perfect hiking route: the route of the hanging bridges also known as the Path of the Calderones or Pantaneros Path.
The route is of recent construction, in 2013, although the history of these bridges dates back to the 50s, in the years of the construction of the Loriguilla reservoir.
It was then, when the workers who participated in the work decided to shorten the route, between Chulilla and the reservoir, to build two bridges that would serve to cross the canyon of the Turia river and thus shorten the time of the journey.
The flood of 1957 destroyed the two bridges built and it was not until 2013 that they were rebuilt.
The route, up to the bridges, is 5.05 km long. It has a medium high difficulty. The highest bridge has a height over the river of about 15 m., And a length of its footbridge of 21 m. The other bridge has a length of 28 m., and a height above the river, 5.5 m.
The route starts from the center of the town, in Plaza de la Baronía, we will leave the town along Calle Maestro Amblar, and continue along the road until we reach the El Altico hostel. We will descend a little and on the left we will find a first viewpoint "El Altico" with fantastic views of the Turia River Canyon. From above you can see the building that houses the floodgates of the canal that feeds the town's hydroelectric power station, located downstream.
The path continues very close to the precipice and it is important to exercise extreme caution, especially if children are with us.
We will continue along the path towards the reservoir, and a few meters away we will find the next viewpoint, “La Carrucha”, from which we can see spectacular views of the natural backwater “El Charco Azul”. Continuing along the path we observe how the Canyon closes, only allowing the Turia river to pass. To our left, on the other side of the river, we see the mount of “La Punta”.
Little by little, we get closer to the bridges, at the end of this first part of the trail we come across the Calderones spot, an area in which the Turia river makes a great meander.
From this point you can see in the distance, the first bridge, which we will access by going down the same stairs that the reservoir workers built and then the second bridge.
A second option would be to make the route from the Chulilla Ecopark, it is a shorter route but the viewpoints mentioned above are not appreciated. In the same Ecopark there is a parking area and another a little further on, almost at the beginning of the route as such.
At present, the suspension bridges are used as access to the climbing areas of the Oasis sector in the Turia canyon.
After passing the bridges, we can continue along the path, which first reaches the dam of the Loriguilla reservoir, crosses it and heads up the mountain through the municipality of Loriguilla and Sot de Chera. We have to take into account that in total the path is 13 km long, so you have to be prepared with enough water, adequate footwear and protection from the sun.
On the way to Chulilla, the path is circular, we will go down the FalFiguera ravine. At the beginning of the ravine we will find some valuable cave paintings, and we will continue descending the path until we already see the town of Chulilla crowned by the Castle.
Upon reaching the Turia river, we will cross it and wander through the streets of Chulilla until we reach the starting point, the Plaza de la Baronía.
LINKS
https://www.valenciabonita.es/2015/09/01/la-ruta-de-los-puentes-colgantes-de-chulilla/
https://www.menudosviajeros.com/blog/la-ruta-de-los-puentes-colgantes-de-chulilla-con-ninos
http://rutasparatodaslasedades.blogspot.com/2014/08/ruta-de-los-puentes-colgantes-de.html
https://www.deceroadoce.es/puentes-colgantes-chulilla/