The route begins at the Town Hall, where a door with five locks related to the water distribution system is still conserved. It continues across the village, passing through the remains of an old public well and an old washhouse beside the Rebollet Canal. Leaving the town center, we will skirt the Serpis River, enjoying the unique agricultural area until we reach the Casa Fosca bifurcation, which has a recreation area and a path through some elements of the system, such as a water meters, the Catorzena ditch or the remains of a noria. We will walk this path back to the junction and then head towards the Casa Clara water bifurcation. It is the second major element in the water distribution system. Back in town, we will visit the former Aynat mill, which took advantage of the canal’s water stream from at least the 15th century, today transformed into a magnificent restaurant called Molí Canyar.
The book Diari de Sotaia by Joan Pellicer highlighted the old literary topic of the beatus ille (the praise of rural life’s simplicity and austerity in opposition to the vain agitation of the city). Sutayha (meaning “terrace, paving, or oil mill’s basin”) was the name that Muslims gave to this territory, as it looked like a terrace, a plain, a space they hoped to work and cultivate.
Camins de Sotaia is a walk that combines the description of the water cultural landscapes evolution and the portrayal of the people’s customs and traditions in connection with the environment.
A walk around Bellreguard, Rafelcofer and Potries through a sea of orange trees, presenting the succession of lands irrigated by numerous canals and ditches; the concatenation of rectilinear tree rows that draw geometrical structures, and the explosion of colours and scents from the orange blossoms and oranges.
We suggest you a pleasant walk along the Potries town route, visiting the unique Town Hall building, a 16th century palace-house, former property of the powerful Borja family. It continues along Boamit Street, with apparent reminiscences of a Muslim past, to reach the Sants Joans parish church, dating from the end of the 16th century, where the relic of Sant Blai (patron saint of Potries) is conserved. This relic attracts thousands of visitors during the “Porrat” festival in February. From the Church square, through Major Street, it arrives at the picturesque País Valencià square, and continues along Sant Salvador Street, formerly known as “Alfareria”, as it was a pottery production area. It turns right by the Ermita Street until reaching the Calvary, and continues over the steep path flanked by cypresses towards the chapel, built between 1854 and 1865. From this point the panoramic views are fantastic, we can see an extensive plain surrounded by mountains extending to the sea. The route concludes with a visit to the Àngel Domínguez ethnological museum, the last vestige of a thousand-year activity in our town.
The Potries cycle route connects with CR-84, offering an alternative route across orange groves and guiding cyclists and visitors through traditional rural roads to the town. It gives complete information about the tourist offer and services in the municipality, as well as links to other routes and proposals, such as the future Via Verda del Serpis that passes through our town.
The itinerary runs through the Catorzena allotment, located on a winding meander of the Serpis River. It is an almost flat terrain, with the exception of the river banks, occupied by cultivation terraces that conserve marvellous dry stone walls. The cultivation of oranges is predominant today, although we know that formerly vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees were also cultivated. In fact, the name of this area, the Catorzena (fourteenth part), comes from the amount of fruit that was to be delivered in taxes to the land owner during the old regime.
“EntreArrels” is a tourist, environmental and historical initiative around fifteen emblematic trees (and groves) of Potries. It offers a tour of specimens of great beauty and charm, each with a uniqueness associated with its shape or dimensions, antiquity, or historical events that have witnessed.