Traditional water culture

ROUTE 3. TRADITIONAL WATER CULTURE

Distance: 6,5 km walking (you can also cycle)
Time needed: 3h 30min

This route starts at the MAG (Guardamar Archaeological Museum), where you will have all the information available to complete this route. The museum’s ethnographical room, allusive to the traditional world, has several examples on show of water lifting devices, specifically a human traction one.

Cross the town and head towards the new River Segura canal built to reduce the risk of cyclical floods in the river’s basin. Once you’ve reached this channel built around 1992, walk a kilometer along the river’s bank. From here move on to the few vestiges preserved of the old Segura River’s meander in the final stretch before flowing into the sea. Then, walk the winding path back up to the next stop.

Finally, leaning on a wooden bridge, see a construction in the river itself known as the Levante Company Gates and Irrigation canal. This is a group built in 1923 and inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII, on that same year. It was built to use the surplus remaining River Segura waters at its mouth. It is another major early 20th century industrial engineering work.

Cross the old river bed using the Iron Bridge, heir of an older 18th century stone bridge, which connected the town with its farming district. This is also an important piece of early 20th century industrial engineering.

The next stop has three heritage resources, linked to the historical and social use of water, from the foundation of the town of Guardamar by King Alfonso X, the Wise, at the end of the 13th century, to the present time. The most significant, without a doubt, is the mill and weir of Sant Antoni, which has always been in use from the 14th to the 20th centuries, a hydraulic complex comprising a hydraulic traction flour mill and a weir, to which it is historically and structurally linked.

From here, climb to Guardamar Castle Hill where you can enjoy the best views of the surrounding areas. Descend softly following the town’s streets till your next stop: the Engineer Mira House Museum (Tourist Office).

The different rooms of the Engineer Mira House Museum show the dramatic events and the reforestation project carried out to fix the sand dunes that were advancing towards the town in the early 20th century. These moving sand dunes had already ruined some of the agricultural land and several houses in Guardamar.

To end the route, visit the Dry River Waterwheel (Noria del Rio Seco), which is a sample of the Lower Segura River District traditional irrigation system. It proves the important role played by animal traction water elevation devices.