Tinença de Benifasà Natural Park

The Wild North: Tinença de Benifasà, one of the most remote and pristine natural parks in the Valencia Region, perfect for slow campervan travel.

Join us to discover by campervan the wildest side of our region, where you'll walk paths with incredible views, spot eagles and vultures, ride MTB trails with steep gradients or kayak across the Ulldecona reservoir.

This gem of the Castellón province is still largely unknown to many, yet it hides wonderful corners to enjoy surrounded

by forest, rock and water

.

The Baix Maestrat comarca is located in the north interior of the Castellón province and at its northernmost tip, already bordering Aragón and Catalonia, sits the sub-comarca of La Tinença de Benifassà. Five small villages make up the municipality of La Pobla de Benifassà — which also includes Fredes, Coratxar, Boixar and Ballestar.

The municipalities of Castell de Cabres and Bell complete the list of villages in La Tinença, almost all above 1,000 metres of altitude.

On this occasion we've chosen a route that turned out to be spectacular. It's a circular trail that, starting in Fredes, passes Mas del Pixón, El Portell de l'Infern, Cova del Aire, Brun hermitage, the Tenalla forest house, Barranc del Salt and Salt de Robert. In total, it's a 15 km route with 600 m elevation gain and a duration of 6–7 hours depending on pace.

The route has no technical difficulty beyond its length. First you reach Mas del Pixón — the views from this privileged spot are stunning. Then you continue across the impressive mountain pass of El Portell. The visit to Cova de l'Aire isn't part of the route itself but is worth doing. The left-hand turn-off is a bit further along. It's a path that includes a small scramble, very short but it may not be easy for everyone. At the cave entrance you also need to be careful — not difficult but the terrain is somewhat slippery and sloped. Along the way vultures flew over us, and we could see them passing very close. If you decide to go to the cave it won't leave you indifferent — it doesn't disappoint!

Once back on the main route, the descent begins down to a fork signposted Tenalla or Pantano — both options are valid and lead to the same point, the Tenalla forest house. If you take the Tenalla diversion you pass by the Brun hermitage. Conversely, if you go to Pantano (which we did by accident), you loop back along a very comfortable track with great views.

Once you reach the forest house — a good spot for a rest and a snack — the climb up to the Salt de Robert via Barranc del Salt begins. The climb is steep, but the path is comfortable and well-made. Finally we return to Fredes and head to the only restaurant in the village, open year-round except Tuesdays, which is its day off. The track to follow the route can be found on Wikiloc

.

To sleep with the van there's a spectacular spot — 1.5 km before reaching Fredes from La Senia, a pass with a large flat clearing serves as a viewpoint with views of the entire plain down to the sea. Incredible spot!

La Tinença offers countless activities, and one of them is visiting its villages — small, very well preserved and in unique locations. Worth highlighting is the Santa María de Benifassà monastery, only open Thursdays. The village of Ballestar, very small but very well preserved, has a car park that can be a good place to spend the night.

From here it's 2.5 km to La Pobla de Benifassà, the municipality's capital. It has a medical clinic and a pharmacy, plus several hotels and restaurants. We chose La Morena (restaurantelamorena.es @lamorenarestaurante) and we loved it. The €18 set menu is spectacular. With km-0 and local products such as the almond and village honey dessert with mistela wine.

From here we headed to visit El Boixar and Castell de Cabres. In the latter you can visit the church by asking for the key at the village bar — and if you like honey, you can buy some very good honey at the same bar. We had to skip Coratxar because there was ice on the road, but it's surely worth seeing.

We hope you enjoy this gem of the Castellón province — there are endless routes to do and places to visit. Just invent your own route with our van and feel nature at its fullest.

As always, we ask you to be respectful with the environment you visit — leave no trace, take all the waste you generate with you.