Stage 3. Amposta/Horta de Sant Joan
116.1 kilometers. 690 positive meters.
Amposta is the entrance to the bikepacking route in the unique landscapes of the Ebro delta, an immense alluvial plain formed by sediments washed away in the waters of the river and traditionally dedicated to the cultivation of rice. The cycling route leaves Amposta along the right bank of the Ebro and follows a path set in a pleasant corridor of poplars and riverside vegetation between the river and the rice plantations. The land is completely flat, very comfortable, at various points there are spaces with benches and information panels on environmental values. The trail is a kind of highway in the delta for fans of active tourism and recreational leisure, it is usually frequented by cyclists, hikers, runners and walkers. In Deltebre the route changes shore through the impressive Lo Passador bridge, inaugurated in 2010 and converted into an architectural icon in the river landscape of the delta. At the Sant Jaume d'Enveja pier, next to the bridge, a boat crossing operated until recently. The next section is a bike path with gardens, kiosks and recreational spaces until a roundabout where another path begins parallel to the Ebro Canal that ends in the tourist areas of Pas de Buda, the Las Golondrinas pier and the Riumar marina. The end of the Nature Trail and the GR-99 trail appear shortly after, at the mouth of the Ebro in the Mediterranean, where the Garxal lighthouse and the curious tower of the Mirador del Zigurat are located, isolated and solitary, an authentic finis terrae on the shore from sea.
The cycle route takes the same route back to Deltebre and continues along the right of the river without crossing Lo Passador, following the milestones of the Nature Trail towards Camarles, but we do not reach the end. At the Mare de Déu hermitage, where the slender Torre de l'Aldea stands on the remains of an ancient Arab watchtower, we take a detour marked with milestones of the cycling routes of the Ebro Delta Natural Park towards Amposta, connecting with the bike lane that leads to the iron bridge of Tortosa along the Ebro Canal. And it is time to undertake the crossing of the Coastal Mountain Range inland along the greenway. The route passes through Xerta again, runs through the warm rural environments of the Terres del Ebre and goes up to the Benifallet station, converted into tourist accommodation and a restaurant, a good place to regain strength before entering the mountains. The route of the old Val de Zafán railway is a great work of railway engineering; it was necessary to drill 28 tunnels in the inhospitable mountains of Terra Alta and the wild canyon of the Canaletes river, far from towns and inhabited places. In the tunnels there are all kinds of equipment, some have automatic lighting and others are dark, in any case the headlight or front light on the bike is essential to see in the dark and to warn other cyclists, it is a very frequented route. and it is normal to cross paths with other users of the greenway. The surface is the usual pavement for cycling lanes, perfect for gravel bikes. Inside the tunnels it can be asphalt, dirt or with puddles due to leaks, but it always has good cyclability. The only place where the continuity of the train track is broken is precisely in the tunnel that suffered the collapse that caused the definitive closure of the track in 1973, at the exit of the Obaga dels Argilars canyon. The Nature Trail surrounds the destroyed tunnel, passes through the Port del Comte station and enters the Gandesa river plain, where the town of Bot is located, the only town in Terra Alta at the foot of the railway line. In the station area there is an old railway carriage converted into a railway bus with a bar and terrace.
The surface of the greenway is good and comfortable from the rice fields of the Ebro delta to the towns of the Coastal Mountains, a constant false plain from the seashore to Horta de Sant Joan, accumulating some seven hundred meters of positive slope, although The kilometers are very entertaining and fly by. The path is spectacular, it crosses countless tunnels, viaducts, deep ravines, isolated and solitary mountain ranges and old stations converted for new tourist uses that are places of frequent meetings with other cyclists. The stage ends in Horta de Sant Joan, it is close to the road, offers complete services and has an old town declared a Historic-Artistic Site, with narrow streets with a medieval atmosphere, palaces, stately mansions and a rich monumental heritage at the foot of the Natural Park. dels Ports.