The village and outlying district of La Parroquia the municipality of Lorca

A small agricultural village in northern Lorca on the old inland route to Andalucía

La Parroquia, also known as La Parroquia de la Fuensanta and La Tova, is a small village with around 500 residents in the western part of the “Tierras Altas” area of the vast municipality of Lorca, located just east of the mountainous terrain through which the road from Lorca to Vélez Blanco and Vélez Rubio in Andalucía runs (click for map).

It is the north-westernmost of the 39 “diputaciones” of Lorca, which is sub-divided in this way due to its sheer size: covering an area of 1,675 square kilometres, this is the second largest municipality in Spain.

In this rural environment agriculture is based principally on grapes, olives, almonds and walnuts, and these dominate the landscape on the flat ground between the mountain ranges and alongside the river beds of the Vélez and the Luchena, which are dry for large parts of the year.

This is also an area rich in history and it is known the Vía Augusta Roman road passed through the mountains here, and a Roman milestone has been found dating from the reign of Diacletian (284-305 AD). The ruined castle of Xiquena survives from the Middle Ages, when the mosque of Centeno and the Torre de Puentes were built, while in more recent times the Puentes dam and reservoir were constructed to supply and control the flow of water to the city of Lorca.

In and around La Parroquia, the Town Hall of Lorca has included three walking and mountain biking routes in its “Los Caminos del Sol” program:

The El Cimbre walking route (15.7 km, approximately 4 hours 30, low level of difficulty),

The Los Pantanos MTB mountain bike route (58 km at altitudes of between 443 and 1,000 above sea level).

The El Castellón walk, suitable for families with children (5.3 km, 1 hour 30) - click for further information.

Bars and restaurants

- Bar La Gasolinera, Carretera de la Fuensanta s/n, telephone 680 582517

- Cafetería O’KU, telephone 634 481286

- Bar restaurante Aurora, Calle Mayor, 30, telephone 968

Shops

- Panadería artesanal “El Gafas”, telephone 968 495202, C/ Fuensanta, N° 23

- Panadería artesanal “El Rincón de Clemen”, telephone 636 815037, Calle Mayor, 31

- Autoservicio Carnicería Morales (with homemade embutidos)m Calle Fuensanta, 11, telephone 968 495050

- Multiprecio Nurimar, telephone 662 217941, Calle Fuensanta, 1

- Estanco and gift shop Felipe, telephone 968 495013

Places of interest

- Mezquita del Centeno (mosque, Middle Ages)

- The baths of La Fuensanta (abandoned)

- Santo de la Parroquia, a statue at the top of the highest hill, visible from all the surrounding area. Impossible to reach on foot, the undergrowth has covered the path, which was previously used for a Vía Crucis after the statue was constructed in 1952 by architect Nicolás Martínez Ramón.

- At the reservoir of Puentes is one of the largest tamarisk woods in the Region of Murcia.

- The ruined castle of Xiquena.

For more local events, news and visiting information go to the home page of Lorca Today.