“To travel is to live.” The famous children’s story writer Hans Christian Andersen was right when he said this phrase for posterity. We travel to marvel at nature, art and architecture, to discover the latest trends in fashionable cities or enjoy gastronomy. The point is to move. In 2024, nearly 91 million international tourists will arrive in our country, the second most visited country in the world after France, to visit, mainly, our big cities. On World Tourism Day, this year with the motto ‘Tourism and Peace’, We encourage you to stay away from the most requested destinations and focus on others that are less popular, are not crowded and deserve to be discovered without disturbing their tranquility.
© Leonid AndronovTHE BIERZO
It is a region of incalculable beauty. and yet, one can spend a few days surrounded by nature almost in solitude. Except for Ponferrada, which is the capital and where some cross as pilgrims to Santiago and others stop to visit its Templar castle, there is much to discover. The unusual place of Las Médulas, A World Heritage Site, it is a must-see stop, like its charming towns of Peñalba de Santiago, Molinaseca or Villafranca del Bierzowhich is like a small Compostela.
SORIA
The capital of Soria is small, yes, the second with the fewest inhabitants in our country after Teruel. It has a calm pace, too, but it is bigger in history than many cities. In autumn, the magnificent poplar walk along the Duero that leads to the hermitage of San Saturio is most inspiring. The visit to cloister of San Juan de Duero, shopping along the Collado, The Romanesque of the Santo Domingo church or its gastronomic culture can be enjoyed without haste, and without many people.
© Westend61SIERRA DEL SEGURA
The south of Albacete is mountainous and abrupt and in the middle of its hard escarpments there are hidden fountains, springs and a handful of evocative towns: Ayna, BogarraPaterna del Madera, Riópar, Molinicos, Vianos… An unknown and wild territory. The maps mention it as the mountain range of Alcaraz and Segura, but the locals have baptized it with a sweeter and more evocative name: the Sierra del Agua. The best proof: Jets where the Mundo River is born, which is born in a deep cave giving an extraordinary spectacle.
THE MAESTRAZGO
Castellón and Teruel share this region, which is land of templars, beautiful landscapes and medieval castles and still few know. You can start a route at the source of the Pitarque River, with waterfalls and crystalline pools. Not far from there, between gorges, charming towns arise such as Cantavieja, with its baroque temple, The Church of the Cid, with a monumental heritage, and Mirambel (in the image), small, but a historic center of great value for a pleasant walk.
© José Miguel Sánchez / Alamy Stock PhotoTHE AMBROZ VALLEY
La Vera and Jerte are the Cáceres valleys that sound the most, but in autumn Ambroz’s is magical. Start a route in the port of Honduras soaking up nature, continue Hervás, which has one of the most beautiful Jewish quarters in Spain, stop by the Interpretation Center of the Iberian Wolf of La Garganta, walk or ride a bike along the VÃa Verde de la Plata and take a break at the spa and Roman baths of Montemayor Baths. Overcrowding doesn’t come here.
SIERRA DEL RINCON
Hidden in the northwest corner of Madrid, this corner with ancient oak forests, walking paths and stone and slate towns Only those who come to visit the Montejo beech forest in autumn, the southernmost in Europe, arrive and then turn around. The traditional architecture of towns with as much charm as Horcajuelo de la Sierrawith its church and its ethnographic museum, La Hiruela, the best preserved in the area, or Puebla de la Sierra, the most isolated.
RONCAL VALLEY
In the Navarrese Pyrenees, the Roncal valley is a great unknown beyond its limits and it will not be due to merit. It has a brutal nature, authentic towns like Isaba or the one that gives it its name, a rich gastronomy and it has been chosen as a starlight destination. The town of Burgui, with its cobbled streets Curved tile houses and their Roman bridge are the entrance to this valley where you cannot miss two essential natural sites: the Burgui gorge, with one of the largest colonies of vultures in Europe, and the rafts of Sasi.
