The Baix Maestrat region is towards the north of Castellón, inland from Vinaros, and with a damp day in prospect we took the opportunity to relocate to explore another bunch of crags. Our original plan to extend our recce as far inland as Morella was thwarted when rain turned to snow – quite a lot of it – and we beat a hasty retreat to a lower altitude. One to explore a bit later in the season!

Xert

Xert is a pretty mountain town, backed by a long escarpment of limestone crags, giving a couple of hundred routes distributed over half a dozen sectors, around half of which are south facing and suitable for winter climbing. Sectors Antic and Iniciacion are easily accessed in only a few minutes from a well-maintained dirt road.

The prevailing style is off-vertical grey limestone split by vertical cracks and corners (including the occasional trad line) but otherwise a bit lacking in holds, with shallow rounded pockets proving to be disappointing for the most part. The memorably-named Iniciacion 4, 6a, proved to be quite the initiation – tricky! Don’t be fooled by the blue sky, it was blowing a hoolie!

Moving along to Sector Antic, in the hope of finding something more friendly and more sheltered, we picked Ditets Reequipada, V+, up an attractive pillar which had the merit of facing a little out of the wind. A grade of V+++ would be merited (wrong enough to be a typo).

We were saved from any further schooling by a sharp downpour and a convenient excuse to bring an early end to proceedings. Probably not the best conditions to give the area a fair assessment, so might be worth another visit on a better day. Certainly a pretty spot.

Cervera del Maestre

Heading back to the campsite we took in a short diversion to check out Cervera del Maestre, which has a couple of unusual sectors below the village, set in a (mostly) dry riverbed. Another victim of “didn’t catch it in the best conditions” though it has to be said it didn’t look hugely appealing.

However, it has the merit of a nearby campsite just outside the village (walking distance to the crag) which might be of interest to rockaroundtheworld.co.uk readers who enjoy the occasional bit of two-wheeled fun. Camping Ciudad del Ciclismo has the unique claim to be the only site in Spain with MTB trails within the grounds (and plenty more in the vicinity) https://www.ciudaddelciclismo.com/ very welcoming, and a great alternative to the somewhat grim offerings on the coast.

A bit underwhelmed, and with more windy weather forecasted, we set off southwards to check out a couple of crags in the Alto Mijares. This is the name for the area near Montanejos which drains into the Mijares River, not to be confused with one of our favourite finds of recent years https://rockaroundtheworld.co.uk/2022/02/24/alto-mijares-revisited-two-years-later-than-planned/ which is also in the vicinity.

Ayódar

Ayódar is a set of attractive looking crags immediately above the road, including a couple of sectors where you are pretty much belaying on the tarmac – fear not, this is a one-car-per-hour kind of road, and in any event most of the routes are a little further from the traffic.

Sector Carretera 2 at least keeps you a couple of metres away from becoming roadkill. Gandhul and the Flandhul and Chilkoot Charlie both providing stiffish outings at 6a, on crimpy brown limestone with the occasional friable feature.

Sector Rompe Parabolt is well off the road, and is a bit more impressive.

We did Via de Blai, a tough 6a+ up an incipient crack line – again, a little friable, but a worthwhile adventure.

The further sectors look to be well worth exploring on a future visit, but with a super-sunny day forecasted, followed by rain, we decided to roll the dice for a visit to Torrechiva. It’s “just over the hill” but it’s a serpentine wriggling road and we happened across this delightful little pull-in for a peaceful stopover.

Torrechiva

Entering the village of Torrechiva, Google is saying 5km to the parking and about 20mins remaining – surely that can’t be right? Nope, it was more like 30mins! Very windy zigzags up narrow concrete roads for the first half, and then well-maintained dirt roads thereafter. You’d be faster in a regular car or small van, as it was dodging trees that was the main obstacle.

Arriving at the parking area, you immediately get that sense that you’ve found a special place which has been developed and treasured by some very committed enthusiasts. The noticeboard in the middle of nowhere…

… has this eulogy to the climbing area (courtesy of Google Translate)

Another notice speaks to the long campaign to negotiate access via these private roads and of course the “leave no trace” ethic that is vital to maintaining good relations.

A winding path with the occasional wooden step leads in only a few minutes to the series of crags, each denoted with an immaculate wooden sign.

The climbing itself is great – with just over a hundred routes, almost all of them in the 6s with a smattering of 5s, it’s very much a “mid grade crag”. Sharp, edgy rock (generally solid but still settling down a bit) running to 30m and more with the odd extension. There’s even a friendly Iniciacion sector, El Zocalo, with some shorter IVs and Vs (handy for a quick sighting shot to calibrate the grading and to confirm it’s towards the friendlier end).

Gorgeous day, but with 40mph northwesterlies it was a tad blowy. Just to the right Sector Feng Shui was enjoying a bit more shelter, so it was a tad warmer on the excellent Lazos de Sangre, 6a…

… with a 6c extension to 42m. Never desperate, but untravelled enough to feel a bit fragile in places.

Left again, Sector Altico is the centrepiece of the crag, and although a few of the routes are subject to a bird ban, there are plenty that aren’t. Dragones y Baquetas, 6c, is good, but be wary that the reported 28m length is actually 35m – a DANGEROUS guidebook typo.

Here’s Helen on Tentacion Vive Arriba, 6a:

Left again, Cableados has half a dozen long, attractive routes. I chose badly, picking Apnea in a greedy effort to make it a three 6c day, and getting my arse kicked instead!

Magnificent outlook over almost unbroken forest as far as the eye can see, with just the postcard white glimmering village to add a splash of contrast.

All day, we’d been entertained by the soaring displays of the circling Griffon Vultures.

You can just about make out a couple skimming the top of the crag, with a local climber nearing the top of sector Feng Shui in the shot below.

Suffice to say we were completely enchanted by the place, and we decided to stop over despite the cruddy forecast, on the off chance of some more climbing the following day.

Fortune favours the brave (or the fortunate!) and sure enough the sun returned in the morning. We ventured further right in search of the earlier sun. Helen did La Marmita de Obelix, V+ on Sector Agujas. Further right again, Parque de Atracciones has another fine selection of long routes. Chapas a Pachas is another 6a with a 6c extension, though the 6a is no giveaway and the extension pulls through a wild roof (too puny to hang on to make the crucial clip – got it second go).

Punto Dragon Khan was a tough 6b+ with some mildly alarming holds.

Here’s Helen on La Cuesta de los Mosquitos, V+ – spot the circling Vulture.

Plenty more great looking routes to come back for, and Torrechiva is comfortably placed at the top of the “favourite new crags of 2026” leaderboard. If the weather gods smile again (and bear in mind it’s at around 600m) watch out for a second installment later in the trip.