This is the Maestrat mining park (Castellón): visiting hours, prices

On a cultural level, a car route through the Alto Maestrazgo of Castellón you have the surprise of being able to visit some ancient iron mines in the natural area of La Fontanella.

Indeed, just eight kilometers from the very beautiful town of Culla, and three kilometers from The Torre d'en Besora, in some mid-mountain places, at about 800 meters above sea level, you find the Maestrat Mining Park, a cultural return to the 4th decade when this area began to be exploited iron mines.

Now you have the opportunity to know the history of two iron mines, the Hope mine y Victoria mine, which you can go through when you sign up for a tour which lasts about two hours.

History of the iron mines in Castellón

In these visits you will know miners stories, and they will be the ones who tell us about it in a video that can be seen at the beginning of the visit.

This way you will know that after the Civil War, these lands were transferred to a mining company for exploitation.

The locals had long known of the existence of iron ores and, specifically, they used to access a cave to collect  limonite which they then used to paint their houses.

From the mid-40s until 1964, these mines were exploited, in which three iron ores were found.

According to what they tell us, its history was short because it cost too much to transport the mineral to the Sagunto Blast Furnaces, which led to little investment in the mines.

In its heyday, about a hundred miners worked simultaneously in three shifts a day.

What to see when visiting the Maestrat mining park

Al visit the Maestrat mining park You will tour the interior of both mines, starting with the Victoria mine, although it is known as Hope mine the one that was opened first, and where the extraction was done with manual drills, without the use of electric hammers.

During the tour inside the mines You will see different corners and learn how progress was made in opening tunnels, opening holes in the walls with drills where explosives were later introduced.

Once the explosion occurred, a good part of the stones were used to create filling and protective walls.

Between one mine and another you will move in a tourist train, and in different corners of the mines you can see objects used by miners during work, like typical carbide lights.

Maestrat mining park schedules

The schedules to visit the Maestrat mining park They vary depending on the season, and may visit the mines, in July, on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, in August, from Wednesday to Sunday, at Easter, on weekends and holidays.

The Maestrat mining park ticket prices They are, generally, 12 euros; children from 4 to 12 years old, 6,50 euros; and youth card, large families, pensioners, retirees and disabled people, 9,60 euros.