The Vía Verde del Noroeste greenway and Caravaca de la Cruz

A 78-kilometre hiking and cycling route full of beautiful scenery and cultural and historical significance

The Vía Verde del Noroeste (the Greenway of the North-west) is one of the most important ecological routes in the Region of Murcia and is also an important tourist attraction, particularly every seven years when pilgrims and hikers flock to the Holy City of Caravaca de la Cruz for the Jubilee Year.

Much of the 78-kilometre greenway follows the old track bed of the Murcia-Caravaca de la Cruz railway line and it offers a series of beautiful landscapes and a wide range of aspects of the natural and cultural heritage of Murcia. Among these are three areas belonging to the Natura 2000 network and countless Items of Cultural Interest in the 9 municipalities along the way (Murcia, Molina de Segura, Alguazas, Campos del Río, Albudeite, Mula, Bullas, Cehegín and Caravaca de la Cruz).

The greenway is also part of the “Camino de la Cruz” pilgrimage route (also known as GR-252, the Camino del Apóstol), and this features two main extensions – one from Orihuela to Murcia and the other between Cartagena and Murcia – although there are also others such as the “lignum crucis” route which runs from Granja de Rocamora to Caravaca!

The route can be completed on foot or by bicycle and is dotted with a series of hostels (“albergues”) for hikers and cyclists.

The route of the Vía Verede del Noroeste can be seen on Google Maps in more detail here.