Visitor Centre: the start of the route

The hills are made up of sediments from an ancient lake basin, dating from long before the Argaric dwellings. Later, the rivers cut through these materials and gradually opened up the valley. This process continued while people inhabited this territory. The route panels explain that, around four thousand years ago, the riverbed lay approximately ten metres above its present level.

They also date the formation of the Llano de Gálvez terrace to between seven thousand and five thousand years ago. A river terrace is a surface that preserves traces of an earlier river level; it should not be confused with the terraces built to construct the houses. Along the way, we will link these traces with what we see: deposits from the ancient lake, ravines, deformations caused by earthquakes, and places where gypsum was exploited.

The landscape, too, has a history that can be read in its layers.