The Gold Mines of Rodalquilar, Cabo de Gata

The gorge finally tipped me out onto a track leading to the Gold Mines of Rodalquilar. These are impressive open-cast mines, with earlier shafts and tunnels exposed by the latter workings. Mined for thousands of years for various ores, gold was discovered at Rodalquilar in the 1800’s, and mined commercially from the 1920’s until the 1960’s, except during the Spanish Civil War of the ’30’s. It’s now possible to walk freely among the workings, and there is a mountain bike route that circles the main workings.