THE SURROUNDINGS

As for visits and activities, the environment of the area where I offer this site is quite rich. Let's see some options below.

ACTIVITIES IN THE NATURE

The area in which the village of Los Prados is located is magnificently well preserved from the natural point of view. The immediate surroundings are declared as Natural Park of the Calares del Río Mundo and La Sima, which adjoins the N.P. of Cazorla Segura and the Villas in Jaén, which in turn is bordering on N.P. of Castril, in Granada. There are large masses of pine and holm oak, with a lot of autochthonous vegetation, including relic forests (yew trees, oaks, arbutus, mountain ashs, gall oaks, hazel trees, holly trees, birches, etc.) that alternate with some small cultivated areas. It is an extensive territory in which human activity is limited to small fields for self-consumption, there being practically no other sample of human activity, such as inhabited populations, or even roads (except for those that give access to the village). 

Here it is possible to do all kinds of nature activities, such as hiking, mountain biking, wildlife observation, rafting, mountaineering, winter mountaineering, canyoning, caving, climbing, etc. A very interesting example is this extraordinary circular route on the Calar de la Sima on a mountain bike:

This is the entrance to the chasm that gives name to all the Calar de la Sima

The route, taken from the website batanriotus.com, passes a few meters from the village of Los Prados.
Or this one also mountain bike, which goes around the Calar de la Sima for 53 km. in which there are only about 200 m. of asphalt, and that also passes through the same town of Los Prados, the only inhabited village of the whole route (and where those 200 m of asphalt are, until the route goes wild through a path in the mountain).

Other possible Nature activities: 

• Ascents and circulars, walking and mountain bike, the Calar de la Sima. 
• Hiking routes in the Calar del Mundo. 
• Ascent to the Argel summit
• Hiking routes in the upper Segura river. 
• Rafting / canoeing in the high Segura river. 
• Caving in the area. 
• Canyoning in the area. 
• Via ferrata in Gontar. 
• Climbing in the area of ​​Yeste. 
• And to rest: hydrotherapy in the Spa of the Tus River.

Here is a blog dedicated to commenting on activities in nature in this area: http://sierradealbacete.com/actividades/  

GASTRONOMY OF THE SIERRA DE (L) SEGURA

This area, of marked mountain characteristics, presents a rich and forceful gastronomy, in which the products of hunting and fishing prevail, existing also many examples of dishes with totally natural base and of vegetarian and / or vegan orientation.

Terraced lounge of the Casa Pedro restaurant, in Góntar

Very close to the village you can visit the hotel-restaurant Casa Pedro that has a generous recipe book for the gastronomic specialties of these valleys and mountains.

I also recommend the restaurant of Hospedería Rural Río Zumeta, which also gives a good account of the gastronomy of the Segura river.

If you like these things do not hesitate to ask for the artisan marc in the area, in my opinion one of the best in Spain.


For more information on the gastronomy of the place, I advise you to visit this website.

THE TOWNS OF THE SURROUNDINGS

Some time ago the tourist posters of the area referred to it as "the Switzerland ot The Mancha". Fortunately, they achieved the touristic age of majority and were aware that this territory has its own idiosyncrasy, its natural and ethnographic characteristics, which make it unique and highly interesting as a place to locate a second residence.

It is one of the most peculiar areas of the geography of southern Spain. Towns with a very marked personality, with beautiful and well-preserved ancient urban centers, with a Roman and Arabic past that can be seen in streets and monuments, rich in traditions and still maintain, in some cases, a good vitality as populations.

Urban area of ​​the "capital" of the area, Yeste.

Yeste, Riópar, Ayna, Elche de la Sierra, Liétor, Letur or Molinicos are just some of the examples of beautiful mountain villages located a short distance from the village of Los Prados. I recommend you to visit them all, without haste, in depth, as life develops in them, going through its steep streets, eating in its restaurants, where traditional culinary art is combined with the modern airs of international cuisine, visiting its monuments and natural corners, etc.

If you want more graphic information about Yeste, the closest of them all to the plot of Los Prados, check out this website that houses an impressive photo documentary about the area.