Mountain biking in the Sierra Calderona

The Mountain range of Calderona is an awesome place for mountain biking. Just 30 km north of Valencia lays the village of Serra. Its parking area is the starting point for 13 fuentes de Serra, which requires a high level of fitness and good equipment, but if you make the steep ascent, you will be rewarded with stunning views over the surrounding mountains and valleys. And you will have it to yourself.

Cover photo credit: @chris90

The village of Serra is nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Calderona Mountain range. You will notice it, because the drive is uphill. Once you arrive at the parking area of Serra, you can start your journey by bike. In this area bike tourism is quite popular. You can choose to go by race bike along the streets or do a mountain bike trip for example along the 13 fuentes de Serra as we did.

If you are eager to do this fantastic trip, take enough food and water with you, start in the morning and take your time, because some steep and rough parts are challenging.

The bike path is, especially in the first place, very steep and a high level of fitness is necessary. The whole route has 42 km and goes along 13 different river sources. The small rivers are not that impressive though, and unfortunately the water is not potable.

Furthermore, most of the track is rough as you can see in the following picture. Due to that a mountain bike is recommendable. Although we did the tour with street bikes. Especially downhill it can be a bit dangerous. We took our time and did the decent carefully. Rent a mountain bike and make sure that your bike, in particular the brakes and tires are in a good condition. And wear a helmet!

Make sure you do a sharp left turn on Font de Poll. If you don’t, you will have to turn around at some point. From Pont de Poll the path normally goes downhill. We missed the sharp left turn and continued straight further uphill. Along the way there is internet connection, so you can check if you are still on the right path and correct your direction.

If you continue your journey on the right track, it goes steeply downhill. Feeling the air clashing against your face, enjoying the speed and at the same time the relaxation of your leg muscles, while making your bike brakes ache is highly enjoyable. Be careful though, there can be cars coming upwards and the track is rough.

You should pass after a while Font del Marge. The 10th river on the mountain bike route is hidden behind gigantic eucalyptus trees. Take a break and revel in clean air, nature’s silence and the shadows of the trees.

After your break the path goes further down and you will be surprised by a monastery showing up on the foot of the mountain. Pass under a huge bridge and feel like being in another century with the old bricks, the grain fields and the impressive monastery. Unfortunately, you can't enter the area, but just the view with the mountain range in the background is totally worth it.

The 13 fuentes de Serra is not for everybody. It is suitable for those who are seeking adventures and a challenging mountain bike tour. It is in total 43 km long. While the starting point in Serra is at 321m above sea level, the peak is at 700m. Check out the details of the route before and be conscious about its difficulty. If you do the route you can have a great day, combining sport and nature.