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By carJoherg — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Teruel, Aragón, Spain · Spain
Fifteen municipalities east of Teruel with just over three thousand people between them. That is all there is, and that is exactly what you come to see: a mountain region with arcaded squares, complete medieval walls and crested mansions raised when transhumant livestock paid well, now half empty. In the middle of it, the Organs of Montoro: hundreds of metres of limestone needles stuck to the mountain. And roads almost nobody drives. Important: across much of the Maestrazgo mobile coverage is non-existent or intermittent, especially between Cantavieja and La Iglesuela del Cid. This is not an exaggeration, it is the terrain: download the maps and the route before setting off and do not rely on online navigation. The roads are mountain roads, narrow and slow: allow considerably more time than any app says. Many buildings open only on guided visits, so ask about times on arrival. And several villages have no petrol station: fill up in Cantavieja.
Villarluengo and the Organs of Montoro · 57 km
Joherg — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)viewpoints
A village hung high on a rocky spur, its houses stepped above the ravine. It has several lookouts over the drop.
Look at the trinquete, the village's pelota court, still in use. And at the washhouse: in villages like this it was the only place where the women met every day.
10 min to the next stop · 8 km
Teo Romera — CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)nature
A mass of limestone needles hundreds of metres high set against the mountain, vertical and parallel, named because they look like the pipes of an organ. They are a listed natural monument and are visible from the road itself, one of those roads that justify the trip on their own.
From Montoro de Mezquita a short, easy path runs to the viewpoint and the Valloré narrows, giving the best perspective.
Cantavieja and Mirambel · 15 km
manelzaera — CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)history
The regional capital, at one thousand two hundred and ninety metres with seven hundred residents, which here counts as a crowd. Its arcaded square is among the finest in Aragón. And this village was Cabrera's headquarters during the Carlist wars: from here he effectively governed half the Maestrazgo, with his own arms factory and hospitals.
There is a guided visit that opens the town hall and the churches, which are otherwise usually locked. Ask about times at the tourist office when you arrive.
15 min to the next stop · 13 km
Juan Carlos Gil — CC BY-SA 3.0 es (Wikimedia Commons)heritage
A walled enclosure at almost a thousand metres that keeps its entire medieval layout, without a single modern building inside. It is among the most complete medieval urban ensembles in Spain, and the plaster lattices on the windows of the Augustinian convent resemble nothing else in the country.
The Europa Nostra restoration award it won in 1981 is what explains its state: it was rescued before depopulation flattened it. You can walk it all in an hour, and it is worth doing slowly.
La Iglesuela del Cid and Fortanete · 30 km
Manel Zaera — CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)history
A listed historic ensemble and a Templar village: the Nublos tower, still standing, is thought to have been part of the Order's castle. Around the village the vegetable plots are enclosed by dry-stone walls built without mortar, a farmed landscape unchanged here for centuries.
It deserves more time than almost anyone gives it. It pays to book at the village tourist office, because the important buildings are opened with a guide.
25 min to the next stop · 29 km
manelzaera — CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)culture
They call it the hidden jewel of the Maestrazgo, and it is one of the highest villages in the region, at over thirteen hundred metres. It lived off transhumant livestock that came up from the Levante to graze in summer, and from that economy remain the crested mansions of the rich stockmen, out of all proportion to a village of two hundred people.
It is the end of the trip and the place where you best see what has happened to this region: big houses, good houses, empty houses. Just over three thousand people live in the Maestrazgo's fifteen municipalities in total.
This getaway is in the app, day by day, with every stop on the map, the drives between them and where to sleep, and the option to save it for when there is no signal.
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