Teruel, a different kind of tourism: the Routes of the 'Tambor' and the 'Bombo' (drums), the Cold Vaults and the Prisons

If you're planning a trip, you can make it even more interesting if you include a few original and unusual options. This is just what we propose on your visit to Teruel. Come and explore these lands in the Bajo Aragón area through these three different themes: the most traditional local festivities, its old prisons and its ice vaults. Would you like to know more?

Route of the Tambor and the Bombo (drums).
The villages of Andorra, Híjar, Calanda, Alcañiz, Samper de Calanda, La Puebla de Híjar, Urrea de Gaén, Alcorisa and Albalate del Arzobispo all take part in this festival. And that's because they all have something very special in common. During the religious festival of Easter Week (in March or April, to commemorate the passion and death of Jesus Christ), many of the religious events are accompanied by massed bands of musicians playing hundreds of the types of drums known as the tambor and the bombo in a spectacular and moving soundscape. This is an experience of a lifetime.
You can take part in the Days in Praise of the Route of the Tambor and the Bombo which are celebrated in rotation by the nine villages just before Easter Week, and which feature the religious brotherhoods from all the locations along the Route. To find out more about this attraction, we recommend you visit the Easter Week Visitor Centres in Alcorisa, Samper de Calanda and La Puebla de Híjar, where you'll also be able to see the processional floats and carved religious images, and the habits of the religious brotherhoods.

Route of the Prisons
Are you interested in visiting a series of places which have been used as prisons since the 15th century? You'll find many of them in an excellent state of conservation in various towns and villages throughout the area of Teruel known as Mezquín-Matarraña. All these spaces are different (many of them are found inside town halls or in their basements), and have distinctive features such as bars, leg irons, trap doors, stone walls… You'll be able to visit everything from sinister prisons in the form of wells in places such as Ráfales and La Fresneda, through to others where you can still see the rooms occupied by the gaoler, as in Torre del Compte and Monrroyo.
 

Route of the ice houses and cold vaults
In this third option the idea is to visit the 16th- and 17th-century constructions designed to store snow and to transform it later into ice, a highly-prized commodity at that time. And where can you find them? In the villages of Alcañiz, Belmonte de San José, Calanda, Cañada de Verich, Ginebrosa, La Mata de los Olmos and Valdealgorfa. Through narrations, multimedia videos, panels and reproductions of tools, you'll find out all about the techniques used to obtain ice, the different uses it served, and much more…

You can arrange your visit to all these places according to your interests and the time you have available, as there are no specific itineraries established for these routes. Be adventurous and enjoy a different kind of tourist experience, and the chance to take part in the traditions and history of Teruel.

You'll find more information on the official webpage of the Teruel tourist board .