Another Wow! day. I am so fortunate. We changed our plans for the day because we had already spent several hours in Tudela. Instead we took the NA-134 just under the hills of the Bardenas Reales, popped into the Bardenas to remind ourselves of the extraordinary scenery, and then stopped to look at Sadaba, a total of 150 kms which took most of the day!
The Ebro Valley
The Ebro Valley is heavily cultivated and industrialised. Fruit and vegetables are grown intensively and there are many canning and processing factories. But we didn’t see any vines until we took a small road up into the hills. The views towards Calahorra were amazing and the plateau was covered in vines.
Bardenas Reales1
We had visited the Bardenas Reales2 before and it was just as stunning this time. Sadly, we cannot drive into the area because the roads are dirt roads and my back won’t take the bumping – not sure the Volvo would like it either! You turn off the NA-134 outside Arguedas to visit the information centre in the Bardenas.
Back on the NA-134 we passed these curiously grey rocks between Arguedas and Tudela.
Then we turned on to the NA-125 towards Valarena and Sabada.
Sadaba
Sadaba is one of the Cinco Villas, an area in the north of the province of Zaragossa. The five towns are Tauste, Ejea de los Caballeros, Sos del Rey Católico, Uncastillo, and of course Sadaba. The name seems to date back to 1105 and King Alfonso I.
The huge castle stands outside the walls of the town, and was just closing as we arrived. Never mind. It dates from the 12th/13th century and is very impressive. Just below the castle is an ice house.
And then, before doing anything more strenuous, it was time for coffee in a small local pub. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and it was fun.
The old town was walled and we entered through the Town Gate.
The Church of Santa Maria
The Church of Santa Maria dates from 1531 and is considered one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in Aragon. But I haven’t been able to find anything about the history of the town, or why it came about in its particular location.
The inside of the Church of Santa Maria
And then we just meandered up and down the streets…
The Main Street in Sadaba
Sadaba to Sos
As we left Sadaba the countryside was quite flat.
The first excitement was the town of Carcastillo, with the castle perched on the hillside high above the road. This is one of the entry points to the Bardenas Reales.
Sos del Rey Catolico
We climbed up to the pass behind a lorry, driving through pine forests, and then we had our first sighting of Sos from the pass overlooking the valley.
It was an extraordinary day and it ended in the wonderful Parador with an excellent dinner.
- The Bardenas Reales: https://www.visitnavarra.es/es/bardenas-reales ↩︎
- Bardenas Reales: https://bardenasreales.es/medio-fisico-geologia/ ↩︎