Travellers eyeing adventures on two wheels in central Spain should add exploring Castilla La-Mancha to their bucket list. A newly launched cycling network, which has a route spanning 2,180 kilometres, is offering visitors a new way to explore the region by bike.
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The Rural Bike Conecta CLM, backed by investment from the European Next Generation funds to the tune of €2.4 million, unfolds across 168 municipalities within the autonomous region. More than 3,200 signposts have been installed along the way, with the route journeying through provincial capitals as well as rural enclaves.
Patricia Franco, Castilla-La Mancha's regional minister of economy, business and employment, said the network showcases the region’s sustainable landscapes.
In total, the Rural Bike Conecta CLM links two national parks, seven natural parks as well as two UNESCO Global Geoparks in the region. Castilla-La Mancha itself is home to one of Europe's largest concentrations of officially designated nature reserves and national parks.
The region’s national parks include Tablas de Daimiel, which offers three self-guided walking routes (top tip from Tour Spain: be sure not to miss the stunning sunset), and Cabañeros, which features 16 walking routes to explore either its plains or mountains zones, both characterised by landscapes with no shortage of greenery, birds and other wildlife.
The vast route is an invitation to those who "seek to enjoy nature and active tourism, because this network is also a starting point and route throughout our region”, Franco said, adding that it will “help us strengthen and consolidate our tourism prospects, which are very positive so far this year”.
Franco also said that the launch comes as Castilla La-Mancha enjoys a tourism boom, citing the latest findings from the Exceltur Barometer, which tracks the country’s tourism performance, ranking the region as Spain's highest growing autonomous region for sector growth in the second quarter of the year.
There are also plans earmarked to have Rural Bike Conecta CLM included as part of EuroVelo, which is a network of 17 long-distance cycle routes that connect across the continent – spanning London to Amsterdam, Brussels to Luxembourg and beyond to destinations such as Zagreb, Bucharest and Athens.