Sierra Espuna

Sierra Espuna rises to 1,585 metres in inland Murcia, and its forest is not natural: by the nineteenth century the range had been stripped bare and flash floods off it were destroying farmland below, so from 1889 the engineer Ricardo Codorniu led a reforestation programme that planted millions of pines over decades, one of the earliest large-scale restoration projects in Europe. On the higher slopes stand the pozos de la nieve, twenty-five domed stone wells built over about 120 years from the late sixteenth century, holding up to 25,000 tonnes between them, in which snow was packed, insulated and stored, then cut and carried down to Murcia and Cartagena through the summer for cooling and medicine, a trade that lasted until industrial ice arrived. Barbary sheep, introduced in 1970, are now numerous. The area was declared a natural site of national interest in 1931 and a regional park, of about 178 square kilometres, in 1992.

What's there

• The snow wells - twenty-five domed stone structures for storing packed snow.
• The planted forest - pine woodland created from bare hillside after 1889.
• The Barbary sheep - an introduced population common on the slopes.
• The Valle de Leiva - a cliff-walled valley on the eastern side.

When to go

March to June and September to November for walking; summer in Murcia is extreme though the altitude gives some relief. Snow occasionally falls on the tops in winter, which is a local event.

Practical notes

The forest is a plantation, uniform in parts, rather than natural woodland. Barbary sheep are an introduced species with debated ecological effects. Facilities are limited to a few recreation areas and the visitor centre.

Nearby

Alhama de Murcia and Totana lie below; Murcia city is forty kilometres northeast.

Key facts