The Salto de la Novia waterfall hiking route

In the previous article about this waterfall in the Valencian community, about 40 minutes away from Valencia city, I showed you the basic important points. In this article, I want to show you more details from the route, as well as some great tips for what to avoid, what to see and where to go. I’ve previously written about several waterfalls, but my absolute favourite (and I do not see it being beaten any time soon), is the waterfall in Portugal that I used to live close to. Although sometimes these types of stunning natural spectacles get busy in summer, they are one of my favourite ways to reconnect with nature and the water, as well as providing perfect opportunities for hiking and spending time with friends.

Where to begin

Finding the beginning of this route, as well as continuing it and not straying off the path is actually more difficult than many other hikes in Spain I have done. The route markings are relatively confusing, but luckily if you have a decent head/eye for directions, it will be easy enough to find your way. One of my favourite websites for hiking and hiking routes is Wikiloc – it is ideal for getting to know the Spanish countryside and provides much-needed detail on route lengths, where to start and end and how to get there. The link below will take you to the hiking route for the Salto de la Novia waterfall.

The route itself is not too challenging, but at around 10 km in total (including the village and back to the car), it is not easy either.

Salto de la Novia Waterfall

Salto de la novia, Calle Bajada de las Fuentes, S/N, 12470 Navaixes, Castellón, Spain

Where to go

Strangely, although the route is quite well marked, the beginning is not at all. You will more than likely park your car (or arrive by train) in the village or next to the beginning of the hiking trail – but the trail goes both ways. It took us a fair amount of discussion and looking at maps and whatnot, but eventually, we decided that, with the village at our backs, heading right on the trail would be best. This turned out to be correct, and luckily a group of hikers confirmed we were heading the right way after a few minutes.

The beginning of the route is flat and man-made, and heads through several long dark tunnels (well enough lit to walk through comfortably), then when you reach a set of poles at a four-way crossing (two together, then two more together 5 metres after), you should turn right. You’ll then be heading towards the lake and dam that keep so much water in this area and maintain the green lush countryside so well.

The lake is a great spot to have a five-minute break and also is beautiful, still and calm. After you’ve walked most of the way round the lake, you should continue on past the parking area and uphill on a road. It felt like the wrong direction, but after about 200 metres, we were rewarded with another sign pointing us towards the continuation of the route. From there, the route basically winds its way through the hills and countryside, with some beautiful open field sections, as well as some forest and more enclosed areas (useful if it is a hot sunny day, which it almost always will be).

You will also see some traditional countryside features that I’ve only really seen in Spain. In the photo above, you can see us exploring a well, used for irrigation, which was amazingly cold despite the temperature outside reaching almost 25 degrees that day.

There are olive and almond trees everywhere on this area, but the route takes you past beautiful little groves and mini-forests, and so gives you a little of everything.

This is the perfect route to spend time with friends, away from busier and more frequented places. The village is in a fairly isolated location (all the better), and so you will have much of the time to yourself.