Albarracín, Río Vero, Maestrazgo, and Río Martín bring together heritage unique in Europe

Aragon is home to rupestrian heritage of extraordinary value within our country, declared World Heritage by UNESCO and recognized by the Council of Europe as a Cultural Route. The prehistoric paintings and engravings that extend across its mountain ranges and ravines form part of a legacy that unites art with nature and tradition. These jewels of Aragonese rock art are concentrated in four major cultural parks: authentic open-air museums where history and nature converge.The Río Vero Cultural Park, at the gates of the Huesca Pyrenees, brings together more than sixty rock shelters that allow visitors to observe the three classical styles in one space: Paleolithic, Levantine, and schematic. At the Colungo Interpretation Center, tours lead guests to sites such as Chimiachas or Arpán, accompanied by trails and landscapes where time seems to stand still. The Albarracín Cultural Park offers one of the greatest concentrations of post-Paleolithic art in southwestern Europe, with up to 26 sites open to the public in the municipalities of Albarracín, Bezas, and Tormón. Meanwhile, the surrounding pine forests greatly enhance the routes’ appeal, including such emblematic locations as the Prado de las Olivanas or the Cerrada del Tío Jorge.

Prehistoric cave in Albarracín (Teruel) © Shutterstock

Further south in the region, the Maestrazgo Cultural Park combines Levantine and schematic rock shelters with some first-rate medieval heritage. Seven rock-art sites add to a route marked by historic towns, such as Mirambel, Cantavieja,or Iglesuela del Cid, as well as unique landscapes like the Órganos de Montoro or the source of the Pitarque River. This route comes to an end in the Río Martín Cultural Park, where 20 accessible shelters present Levantine and schematic scenes from their earliest inhabitants. Meanwhile, the Ariño Interpretation Center offers a detailed vision of the ensemble, set in a landscape of ravines and canyons accompanied by Iberian and medieval remains, alongside Jurassic fossils. Following the rock-art routes in Aragon offers more than just a journey into the past, it’s also an opportunity to explore charming villages, discover the natural wealth of each valley, and understand how the first artists recorded humanity’s memory upon the rocks.