Via Verde of Linares

The winding descent from Linares to the Guadalimar

The Vía Verde de Linares runs for 6 km, from the old Linares – San José station, better known in the town as the “Estación de Almería" or the Almería Railway Station”, to theLinares – Baeza Station, corresponding to the old railway line between Almeríaand Linares.

The need and the interest of this late railway were justified with the aim of taking the novel means of transport to the vulnerable Andalucía Oriental, which up until then, 50 years after the first Spanish railway, had been outside the State's railway plans.

The aim of the new railway company, created around the Linares to Almería railway, the Caminos de Hierro del Sur Company (southern Spain), was going to make the transportation of lead to the Almería port more popular due to the fewer kilometres between the mining town and the port of Almería. The kilometres of track which link the Linares-Baeza station with the Linares - San José station were not completed until 1904. The mining crisis in this region resulted in this section losing traffic, and trains stopped travelling along its tracks in 1961.

Along this route you will come across the “Mirador del Valle” lookout point, where you can see lovely views of the Valle del Guadalimar valley and various nearby villages, in addition to 4 rest areas, with tables, benches, bicycle parking, litter bins and fountains.

The Vía Verde route is surrounded on both sides by different species of trees, with more than 1500 trees in total, with both autochthonous and ornamental species, and shrubs and aromatic plants, typical of the Mediterranean region. It is worth mentioned the two Livestock Routes (Camino de Úbeda and Camino de Granada), which cross the path of this beautiful Vía Verde at two different points.