7th Stage
Higueruela – Chinchilla (28,8 km)
Leave Higueruela through La Solana street, follow the road towards Hoya Gonzalo. Walk along this road, further on you will find a path to the left, a dirt road, which you always follow ahead. This is how you get to Oncebreros, which has a hermitage and a drinking trough. From here, the way takes you to the road, crosses and when arriving at the farmstead of Oncebreros de Arriba turn left and follow this old road from Higueruela to Hoya Gonzalo. If you look, on your left, you will see a sample of rural architecture, called cucos (“huts”). Before arriving, from the top, you can see a beautiful panoramic view of the village.
HOYA GONZALO
The route is marked with scallop ceramics. You enter the village through Larga Street, where the hostel is, and Church Street.
Its first settlers were Iberians and so the archaeological remains found in its surroundings testify. You can visit the Ethnological Museum “Camino de la Cruz”, which offers a good set of objects of daily and domestic life from the seventh century to the early twentieth century, and the parish church dedicated to Our Lady of Remedies.
- Town Hall: Plaza de Molina, 4. Tel: 967 287 666.
- Municipal Hostel: C/ Larga, 47. Price: 10€. 8 places.
From here to Chinchilla there are about four hours left . Take Chinchilla street; at the end of the village, the road turns right. It passes through Casa del Médico and El Fontanar de Abajo. At the next fork, take the path to the right and then to the left, called Camino de Chinchilla a Hoya Gonzalo, duly signposted. In this section, you can also see a sample of the so-called cucos or huts. Without leaving it, heading south-east, it brings you closer to El Rincón, a hamlet 4 km away from Chinchilla, entering by the service road that matches the path in the last few metres.
CHINCHILLA
The route is marked with scallop ceramics. You climb a small hill with guard posts, you pass the Avenue de la Guardia Civil, the Street del Arenal, Virgen de las Nieves and you reach the Plaza Mayor or Plaza de la Mancha.
Chinchilla is the Saltigi Romana. It appears in the Roman itinerary as a mansion located on the road that led from Laminium to Caesar Augusta. Already in the villa, the house of Tercia preserves the noble coat of arms of the founder on which scallops appear. It had a pilgrims’ hospital under the title of San Julián, 14th century, built on top of the first church that Chinchilla had. Only two windows remain, one of which is the transformed western door and a Mudejar door. The complex is quite dilapidated. The Parish Church is dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady, also known as Santa María del Salvador. At the top of the apse there is a life-size statue of a pilgrim Saint James. You can still see monuments, this city has many: the convent of the Dominicans, Mudejar style, in a deplorable state; the Town Hall, which has a beautiful 18th century Baroque façade; the Castle, of Arab origin, which was rebuilt in the 15th century by Don Juan de Villena; the Arab baths, gothic houses with coats of arms, palaces…
- Town Hall: Fernando Núñez Robles, 4. Tel: 967 260 001
- Hostal El Peñón: Tel: 967 260 058 / 967 260 501
- Cueva del Alfarero: Tel: 967 260 436 / 616 482 815
- Cuevas del Castillo: Tel: 620 959 015
- Hostal El Volante: Tel: 967 260 059
- Hostel in the Town Hall: Always call one of these telephone numbers in advance: – Town Hall: 967 260 001 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday. – Local Police: 619 283 950 / 690 050 713. – Civil Protection: 662 011 318. – Tourist Office: from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday 647 530 051 and 967 260 617.
