The Mountain Route
A walk in La Rioja is a gift for the senses at any time of year. A contrast of landscapes and colours, which attracts the visitor to these northern lands, between the Cantabrian Sea and the Mediterranean; its valleys and mountains, which offer a bit of everything, make nature an endless surprise. La Rioja gives us a unique chance to get close to nature. Located in the heart of the Ebro valley and surrounded by seven other valleys, it offers a wide range of unique landscapes.
The Sierra Cebollera was made a Natural Park on 20th March 1995, and is an area where Scots Pines, Beech and Turkey Oaks predominate. It has ecosystems typical of the high Iberian mountains and a terrain formed by glaciers as well as exceptionally interesting flora and fauna.
It has an area of 236.4km2 within a privileged geological area of the Iberian System, a maximum height of 2,164m in the Mesa de Cebollera, and a number of 'Hoyos' or glacial formations.
The 'Tierras Altas de Lomas de Oro' sculpture park is an open-air museum which can be walked around on the signposted Virgen and Achichuelo paths. There are eight sculptures, all in local natural materials, all part of the 'Land Art' movement.
Other places of interest are the Transhumance Interpretation Centre, the Ethnographical Exhibition in San Andrés, the hermitages in Lomos de Orios and La Virgen de la Luz, and the park's Interpretation Centre.
