Albarracín, pink-ochre lanes above the Guadalaviar

There are places that seem designed to discourage haste, and Albarracín is one of them. Perched on a rocky spur in the province of Teruel, in Aragon, the village huddles into a bend of the river Guadalaviar as if seeking shelter. The houses are earth-coloured, a pink-ochre that shifts in tone with the light of day, achieved with local gypsum mixed with the same clay as the surrounding hills. From afar it looks like a single organism grown out of the rock.

Lanes and houses

You almost always arrive by car, because Teruel is one of the least populated provinces in Spain and connections are few: this too is why the crowds never really reach here. You park below and climb on foot, and that is the right way to enter. The lanes are narrow and steep, made of lopsided steps and arches that vault over the street; the façades almost touch overhead. It's worth losing yourself aimlessly, stopping before a dark wooden door, listening to the sound of the water that returns each time the street looks out over the river.

Walls and trails

The medieval walls climb along the ridge up to the Andador tower, and walking them at sunset offers the widest view over the village and the mountains of the Montes Universales. In the surroundings there are trails along the Guadalaviar and rock shelters with ancient paintings in the sierra, to be reached at a leisurely pace. It's a rugged landscape, made of pines, red rock and vast sky.

When to go

To truly enjoy it, it's best to avoid the weekends of August and the Spanish long weekends, when even the small villages fill up. In spring or autumn Albarracín goes back to being what it is: a silent village where you sleep within the walls, eat well and wake without noise. A real alternative to the postcard cities taken by storm.

Related guides: Spain off the beaten track: villages, islands and nature far from mass tourism · Instead of Barcelona: Mediterranean Spanish cities without crowds or chaos.

Getting there

Albarracín lies in the province of Teruel, in Aragon, above the river Guadalaviar. The nearest railway station is at Teruel, from where you continue by bus (few services a day, suspended at weekends and on public holidays) or by taxi. By car you arrive easily from Teruel along the road that climbs up to the village. The relevant airports are Valencia, the nearest, and Madrid.

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