Authentic Route: A Journey Through Silence

The Silent Route, or La Ruta del Silencio, isn't just a road. It's an experience. A journey that connects towns, people, landscapes, and emotions through the Maestrazgo region of Teruel. Although many know it as a favorite route for bikers, it's also increasingly popular among hikers, cyclists, adventurers, and camper van owners who are looking for more than just a destination: they're looking for the path.

This time, we set off from Barcelona, a vibrant and noisy city, full of rhythm, architecture, and hustle and bustle. But our goal was the opposite: to escape the noise, seek out authenticity, and reconnect with silence. And that's exactly what this route offers. The journey toward The Silent Route isn't simply the journey to its official starting point; from the moment you leave home, you gradually immerse yourself in a change of pace, landscape, and perception.

The Road to Maestrazgo: The Journey as a Prologue
Our first part of the tour took us to the Tarragona area. The National Highway, boring but functional, soon gave way to quieter roads that wind through fields and hills. We passed through the area near Reus, a deeply rooted modernist city, and entered Las Borges del Camp, with its peaceful, farming-town feel.

In Riudecols, we recommend a well-deserved breakfast stop. A coffee with milk, tomato bread, and local cured meats—nothing complicated, but with that flavor that only comes from what you enjoy with time. From here, the landscape began to change: less traffic, more greenery, a wider horizon.
The route continued toward Móra d'Ebre, along the left bank of the Ebro River. In this area, the fruit orchards stretch out like a tapestry of color, depending on the season: cherry trees in bloom, peach trees laden with flowers, or vines ripening in the sun.

In Benifallet, we crossed the Ebro, a symbolic gesture that marked the beginning of the true journey inland, toward the area where the Silent Route begins to unfold its magic.
Entering the heart of Maestrazgo
We soon began to notice how the curves multiplied, the mountains rose, and the villages appeared like hidden gems among the valleys and hillsides. Prat de Comte, with its rustic architecture, welcomed us to the Els Ports Natural Park.

Valderrobres, shortly after, surprised us with its medieval bridge and its castle at the top, a living postcard from another time.

Each town in this area has its own personality, its own history, its own silence. These aren't places that shout at the traveler, but rather invite them to slow down, to look closely, to let themselves be touched by the atmosphere.

Cantavieja, now in the province of Teruel, was the next major milestone. Here officially begins the Silent Route, a regional road—the A-1702—that connects Cantavieja with Ejulve, crossing some of the wildest and most unknown landscapes in Aragon. But it's not just nature: it's also history, culture, and resilience.

The Silent Route: Feeling the Call of Silence
“Feel the call of silence,” the signs at the beginning of the trail say. It's not just about what you see, but what you feel. The solitary farmhouses in the middle of the countryside evoke times when life was harder, but also more connected to the earth. The pastures undulate like calm seas in the wind. The mountains seem to rise up to touch the sky.

This stretch is full of viewpoints where you can pause and contemplate in silence. Among them, the Mirador de los Órganos de Montoro stands out for its spectacular nature. The limestone rock formations resemble the pipes of a giant organ, sculpted by time and wind.

There are also iconic points such as the animal sculptures in rusty steel: a mountain goat... symbols of the landscape such as The figure presents a V, the characteristic biker salute, is a new knowing wink towards a group that has fallen in love with the infinite attractions that the Teruel route treasures, and the famous "Caiman", which traveled the route of silence.
They stand there like silent sentinels, reminding the traveler that here, beauty is not shouted: it is whispered.

A journey of contrasts and paradoxes
The Silent Route is a road full of contradictions: rugged, yet welcoming; wild, yet serene. Windswept moors give way to orchards hidden in the ravines. Villages cling to the hillsides, as if afraid of falling into the void, yet within them reigns a hospitable calm, a sense of home.

This landscape also bears witness to a long history. Battles were fought in these lands during the Carlist Wars, stories of shepherds, rebels, and peoples who resisted depopulation were woven. Today, that memory is felt in every stone wall, every tower, and every solitary church.

More than a road: an experience
Traveling this road isn't simply a drive. It's a journey. It's stopping at the viewpoints, talking to the locals you meet in the bars, tasting a cured cheese in Tronchón or a wine in Iglesuela del Cid. It's following a mountain goat with your eyes as it climbs an impossible wall. It's listening to the silence and realizing it's not empty: it's full of everything that noise usually obscures. We mustn't forget Pitarque, a beautiful little village in the Maestrazgo region perched at almost a thousand meters above sea level, within a valley of unique landscapes that give it a personality, typical of charming and attractive enclaves. Two tunnels dug into the rock at the beginning of the 19th century allowed road access to this village.

The Silent Route invites you to pause, to contemplate. It challenges you to leave your watch in your pocket, to reconnect with what's essential. And perhaps that's why it's so special.
Conclusion: silence as destiny alongside the beauty of the mastership.

This trip along the Silent Route is much more than a getaway. It's a way to reconnect with the land, with ourselves, with a way of traveling that goes beyond the miles. From Barcelona, the route took us through increasingly authentic landscapes, through towns full of soul, and along a road that seems designed to touch the heart.

This is The Silent Route, nothing more.