The network of natural roads in Spain now totals more than 10,300 kilometers spread over 115 itineraries throughout the national territory, routes that can be done on foot, by bicycle or on horseback, and that in many cases recover old transport infrastructures, promoting, in addition, the knowledge of landscape and nature and rural development.
The network, managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, opened new sections in the last financial year on the roads of L´Antic-Trenet (Valencia) and Matarraña-Algars (Tarragona and Teruel) and on the greenways of Lucainena de Las Torres to Aguamarga (Almería), and between Santander and the Mediterranean in the Daroca region (Zaragoza), with a total of 85.5 kilometers.
Nature trails
The Nature Trails are configured as green itineraries that have a wide series of natural, cultural, scenic and historical qualities. The main objectives of the program are the promotion, appreciation and knowledge of the natural environment and promoting rural development. These are routes for hiking, cycling or equestrian use that in many cases recover old transport infrastructures such as disused railway lines, livestock tracks, canals or towpaths, and that guarantee the minimum environmental impact on the environment. Approximately 1,600 kilometers of the network are part of the so-called Greenways, which run along old railway lines. In the maintenance and conservation of the roads, other administrations such as autonomous communities, county councils and city councils collaborate with the Ministry.
The Natural Roads program seeks to consolidate these itineraries as backbone elements of the sustainable development of rural areas, promoting these spaces to make them economically viable, and becoming a guarantee for the maintenance of the public domain. In addition to the construction and direct actions on the itineraries, the program includes the dissemination of the network, which is carried out through different channels such as the website, specific computer applications, publications, video editions, and attendance at tourism fairs and promotional events , among other.
Complete information on the entire network of natural trails available can be found at this address, which also includes a series of informative videos with aerial images of different roads on the network that are available on the Ministry’s YouTube channel. There is also an application for mobile phones that contains information of interest on the different paths and routes interpreted in augmented reality, available for IOS and Android operating systems and that can be downloaded from the website.
Summary
Qualification
Nature trails, more than ten thousand kilometers to do on foot, by bicycle or on horseback
Description
The network of natural roads in Spain now totals more than 10,300 kilometers spread over 115 routes throughout the national territory, routes that can be done on foot, by bicycle or on horseback, and in many cases recover old transport infrastructures.
Author
Gastronomy Journal