Km 0
Km 0 of the Vía Verde del Mar is in Benicàssim although the trail can be started from either end.
In Benicássim it sets off from the rest area next to the old Las Villas apeadero* at the easternmost end of the town centre of Benicàssim and the Voramar beach. Access to this point is via Termalismo street. There is a car park you can use near the Hotel Termas Marinas El Palasiet.
If you wish to start from the Oropesa del Mar end, the start is half way along the promenade that borders the La Concha beach. In the pedestrianized Tramontana street (identified by a sign saying ‘Acceso Vía Verde’), which runs perpendicular to the promenade, there is a painted cycle path leading to a rest area. This is where the greenway starts, with a gentle ramp taking us on to the old rail bed.
First cuttings. Leaving from Benicàssim, we first turn our backs on the panoramic sweep of the town’s beaches and head towards the first foothills of the Sierra de Oropesa that spill into the sea. In order to overcome the topographic difficulties posed by these hills it was necessary to excavate two rocky cuttings with such deep, vertical walls that they were both covered with vaulted brick roofs to form tunnels. Between the gloom of the two tunnels there is a rural overpass and a scenic viewpoint looking out over the cliffs to the sea.
Bellver flatlands. Near the Barranco de Bellver ravine the greenway becomes a curving embankment that heads into the flat inland area, first between rows of trees that screen the gardens and houses bordering the magnificent Platgetes de Bellver beaches and later, after crossing the bridge over the Rambla de Bellver watercourse (Km 1), through an area of open pine wood. During this short distance the greenway shakes off the last vestiges of urban sprawl and enters a wild and natural coastal landscape..
Km. 1,5
Colomera cuttings. Where the greenway meets the sea once again, the Sierra de Oropesa range of hills again stretches down to the sea, forming the imposing cliffs of the areas known respectively as Roca del Moro and Roca del Gigante (the latter a micro-reserve designated as an SCI, Site of Community Importance). In order to negotiate this rugged terrain the greenway once again passes through a succession of deep cuttings with vertiginous rock walls, excavated into rocky hillsides covered with mastic and dwarf fan palm.
As we pass again through the “bowels” of the earth we can see ahead of us the silhouette of the Colomera watchtower (a BIC or Asset of Cultural Interest), perched on the Roca del Gigante (which can be reached via a short and easy path leading off the greenway), and the splendid rest area with its sea viewing point between the first and second cuttings.
Km. 2
The long Renegá straight. In the Renegá area the mountains are set further back from the coastline, allowing the old railway line to embark on a long straight section. The trail climbs along a straight embankment that rises above a flat landscape covered by leafy pinewoods dotted with carob trees and olive groves. A number of paths run perpendicular down from the embankment, through the pine woods, to the rocky shoreline below.
The Corda cuttings. Here the dwarf fan, rosemary and mastic covered foothills of the Tossal Gros mountain stretch down to the sea once more. Our greenway negotiates this new barrier by means of a succession of long curving cuttings, tight against the coastline. The trail is squeezed in between two vertical rock faces, which offer intermittent views of the cliffs at the sea edge. Above the cuttings it is possible to glimpse the silhouette of the Corda watchtower (BIC), witness to the pirate raids that ravaged this coast centuries ago. At the start of the cutting there is a path leading to the tower that offers a great view of the cliffs.
Barranc de la Dona. After emerging from the cuttings the former rail bed climbs a high embankment over the Barranc de la Dona (Km 3.9). The views of the waves breaking on the rocks is magnificent from such a lofty position.
Km. 4
The El Bovalar Tunnel. The bright Mediterranean light is replaced for a moment by artificial lighting. The Vía Verde del Mar plunges into the long (600 m) straight tunnel under the Mount Bovalar. However, there is a path that skirts around the verdant, pine clad mount, linking the two tunnel mouths and affording a spectacular view over the Rocas del Cofret of the Islas Columbretes.
The final section is a long straight bordered on the landward side by a pine wood that separates the old line from the modern fast trains running along the new track. Travelling along the greenway provides us with a continuous viewing point offering wonderful sea views. Below use we can see a marina with 700 berths, the Cala del Retor cove, the Iberian settlement of Oropesa la Vella (BIC), and the cove of the same name.
Km. 5,7
The greenway comes to an end in a magnificent area of gardens through which a cycle path runs. If we follow this path to the right we reach the Playa de la Concha beach, a sweeping bay of fine sand washed by a calm sea at the southernmost end of the historical town centre of Oropesa del Mar.
Finally, it should be noted that the Vía Verde del Mar continues for a further 5.3 km running round and through Benicàssim. It consists of a cycle path developed by the Benicàssim town council which is, to all intents and purposes, a greenway, since it faithfully follows the path of the disused rail bed. While it lacks the charm of the coastal route it does have the advantage of forming a 13.5 km long flat circuit. This circular cycle path also runs around the urban coastline of Benicàssim and links the greenway up with the city of Castellón de la Plana. A coastal route to be proud of!
*Note: The term ‘Apeadero’ is used to refer to a small station, typically with few facilities and often unstaffed. In Britain such a station used to be known as a ‘Halt’ although the term (but not the concept) has fallen into disuse, for reasons of image.
(Source: http://www.viasverdes.com)