• Region: Valencian Community
• Province: Valencia
• Declared a Natural Park: 2007
• Park surface area: 6,451 hectares
• Towns and villages: Chera, Sot de Chera

Points of interest

Straddling the Valencian regions of the Plain of Requena-Utiel and La Serranía, the beautiful environment of the Sot de Chera Natural Park has an abrupt and mountainous relief located inside a huge rift valley. It is surrounded by peaks of over 1000 meters including Pico Ropé and Morrón, which is a rocky outcropping that rises above the town of Sot de Chera. Part of the protected area (Sierra Negrete) is also included as an SCI (Place of Community Interest)

This is also the headquarters of the first geological park in the Valencian Community and this is the main reason for a visit to this area. Many examples of geologic structures that that are normally seen only in books can be found here such as strata, faults, folds, travertine formations and fossils. The geological structure of a rift valley is exemplarily represented and covers 70 square km showing geological structures and landforms that have developed during the last 150 million years.

The area has also become famous as a starlight destination. The Starlight Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2009 to promote the protection of the night sky and the development of “astrotourism” and there is an ever growing list of starlight destinations in Spain to visit.

The Sot River is 12 km long and passes through Sot de Chera from west to east, through the area of Las Fuentes, La Canal and the natural pool known as “Charco Gruñidor” until it becomes a tributary of the Turia River.

Don’t miss the Buseo reservoir, the Hoz ravine, the Garita caves and the Xera castle

Find a hotel close to the Sot de Chera Natural Park

Information/Visitors Centers

Both the towns have of Chera and Sot de Chera have interpretation centres that can provide you with information about the area and it’s fauna and flora but the obligatory place to visit here is the Museo y Centro de interpretación Parque Geológico de Chera located on the street called San Isidro, 20 in the town of Chera. In addition to being the starting point for the various footpaths and other itineraries, this museum has an outstanding collection of fossils, minerals, models and a series of explanatory panels about the geological park. Website here (in Spanish) http://www.encherate.com/parquegeo/index.php

The official website for the Sot de Chera Natural Park is here: https://parquesnaturales.gva.es/es/web/pn-chera-sot-de-chera

The Caminito del Rey

Find tickets for the Caminito del Rey: https://www.caminodelrey.es/

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