Spain still hides many curiosities and hidden gems in the depths of its mountain ranges, valleys and plains. However, very few are as incredible as the Calderona Dragon, a huge stone dragon that emerges from the mountain in the Sierra Calderona Natural Park in Valencia. It is an almost dreamlike fantasy vision that becomes the most magical hiking route this spring.
The Calderona Dragon is a habitable sculpture, made by the artist Rhea Marmentini on an old abandoned quarry. In this way, he has taken a damaged landscape and turned it into art, using techniques that are very reminiscent of Gaudí's works to create the head, wings and serpentine body of this beast: organic and sinuous shapes that intertwine with the environment and colored mosaics to recreate the dragon's scales.
This wonder is half sculpture, half house, but it is a private property with restricted visits. That does not prevent you from admiring it from the outside, making a wonderful hiking route that ends at the dragon's mouth. This walk leaves from the Monastery of Sancti Spiritu and follows paths of about 9 kilometers surrounded by pine and cork oaks with views of the Mediterranean, climbing slightly to the Redona Mountain, where the Dragon will welcome you.
Sometimes it is possible to enter and it is very worth it. The interior of the Dragon houses an exhibition of Marmentini's work and a graphic creation space managed by the Dragon Cultural Association of Calderona. The price is 100 euros for four people and 20 euros extra for each extra person. The maximum is 10 people and you have to reserve it on their website.
