The Town in Aragón with 40 Inhabitants Surrounded by Waterfalls and Natural Pools

The route of the springs of the Cabriel River allows you to see this and other pools with waterfalls on a simple walk.

In the charming Sierra de Albarracín, nestled among mountains and quaint stone villages where time seems to stand still, lie some of the most coveted natural pools in Teruel. The crystal-clear waters invite you to cool off during these summers when heat waves dominate weather forecasts, and one of the most famous is the Molino de San Pedro Waterfall, just 5 minutes from the highest town in Spain, where you can spend the summer at 16 degrees.

Located in the municipality of El Vallecillo, this water reservoir attracts visitors not only from locals but also from those who decide to travel from farther away, as it is worth discovering for its beautiful surroundings. One of the aspects that makes this pool so special is its large waterfall, where the Cabriel River plunges in a drop of about ten meters.

The pool, with crystal-clear but quite cold waters, is the perfect place to shield yourself from the high temperatures near the old mill it is named after. However, the place is much more enjoyable if you make an effort to get there, so it is highly recommended, especially for the scenic beauty, to take the trail that starts from El Vallecillo.

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This route traverses the Springs of the Cabriel River in just over four kilometers until reaching the waterfall. Another secret of the area is that, near this one, there is another less frequented waterfall called Herrería, which is a bit smaller and is accessed by a path of less than three kilometers, next to which rest the ruins of an ancient blacksmith shop from the 16th century. The circular trail SL-TE 14.1 allows visiting both starting from the municipality of El Vallecillo.

Another natural site of tourist value is the Cueva de la Obriga, which, with a length of 2,800 m, is the longest in the province. And that only counts the sector that has been explored. It is a cavity that attracts speleology and scuba diving enthusiasts, where you must dive with helmets and oxygen tanks through two long siphons to witness its magnitude.

According to studies, here lies the genesis of El Vallecillo, as deduced from remains that would date back to the Eneolithic period (the transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age); findings that are displayed in the Provincial Museum of Teruel.

Beyond those prehistoric traces, it is considered that the community of El Vallecillo took its first steps in the Middle Ages when the most influential families of the region shared the lands in farmsteads between the 14th and 15th centuries. These were tough times, as rural undertakings suffered the abuses of the Veguillas Fortress (now Torre Fuerte), on the border of Castilla-La Mancha with Aragón. The San Pedro mill, now in ruins, was the economic engine for generations, serving as a point of union for farming families to defend their interests.

With less than 40 inhabitants (only about 10% of the population from 150 years ago), its stone houses, some of which have been turned into rural accommodations, are the historical prologue to buildings of heritage value, such as the 18th-century Church of Santa Trinidad or the San Pedro hermitage, highly revered in this region of Teruel.