Location
Between Zaragoza and Madrid
Alhama de Aragón lies in the province of Zaragoza, within the Comunidad de Calatayud district, at around 664 metres above sea level. The municipality has about nine hundred inhabitants and stretches along the valley of the river Jalón, crossed by both the A-2 motorway and the railway line linking Madrid and Zaragoza.
Its name, like that of Alhama de Almería, comes from the Arabic al-hamma: the spring of hot water. The whole history of the village revolves around its thermal springs, known and used since ancient times.
History
From Aquae Bilbilitanorum
to the grand spas
The Romans already knew these waters and built a settlement here that the Antonine Itinerary records as Aquae Bilbilitanorum, "the waters of Bilbilis", the nearby Roman city. With the arrival of the Muslims the place came to be called al-hamma, in reference to its baths.
The town changed hands several times in the Middle Ages: El Cid took it in 1081, it returned to Muslim rule, and it was Alfonso I who reconquered it around 1122. For a long time it was border territory between Castile and Aragón, until it was finally integrated into the Crown of Aragón in the mid-15th century.
Its great boom came in the 19th century. From 1860, after Manuel Matheu bought the springs, hotels, gardens and a casino were built, and the spa became the driving force of the village. The arrival of the railway multiplied the number of visitors and, between 1930 and 1960, the population came close to two thousand inhabitants.
What to see
A village of water and stone
The town centre keeps the air of the 19th-century spas, crowned by its castle of Andalusi origin.
The castle
Of Muslim origin and rectangular in plan, it dominates the village from above. Its keep dates from the 14th century. At its foot rises the Fuente del Chorrillo, one of the best-known thermal springs in the town.
Church of the Natividad
A 17th-century Baroque church with a tower in the Mudéjar tradition, divided into three sections that decrease in height. It is the main religious building of the old town.
The spa complex
The old 19th-century hotels, gardens and promenades still shape the look of the village. Strolling among them is to wander through the golden age of Spanish thermal tourism.
The thermal lake
The great attraction of Termas Pallarés: an open-air sheet of warm water surrounded by parkland, where you can bathe all year round.
The river Jalón
The river crosses the municipality and shapes the valley. Its banks offer quiet walks and link up with the trails of the surrounding area.
The village water
A thermal lake
instead of the sea
Aragón has no coast, but Alhama de Aragón boasts something rare: an open-air thermal lake, considered one of the largest in Europe. It measures about 140 metres along its longer axis and 80 along the shorter one, with an average depth of a metre and a half, and is fed by more than thirty springs that rise from the bottom.
Its water stays warm all year round, between 28 and 32 °C, and renews itself completely and naturally every 32 hours. Around it, the river Jalón completes the watery landscape that defines the municipality.
Festivals and traditions
The festive calendar
The year in Alhama de Aragón is marked by several events. In early May the pilgrimage to the hermitage of San Gregorio takes place, and from 21 to 23 May the festivities of Santa Quiteria.
The main patron festivities come in August: from 14 to 17 the village honours San Roque, its patron saint, with the most popular events of the summer. To this heritage is added a long pottery tradition, still alive in the municipality.
Gastronomy
Flavours of the inland country
The cooking of Alhama de Aragón is that of inland Aragón: hearty, slow-cooked and built around lamb. The signature dish is ternasco, young lamb slow-roasted with potatoes, which in the Calatayud district is prepared "in the Bilbilitano style", with bay leaf, thyme and garlic. Alongside it you will find migas, garden borage and, to finish, the Frutas de Aragón dipped in chocolate. It all goes well with the wines of the D.O. Calatayud, made from high-altitude garnacha.
To eat in the village, the spa hotels have their own restaurants — the one at the Hotel Balneario Alhama de Aragón offers an Aragonese buffet — and in the town centre there are taverns and eateries where you can try the ternasco and migas. If you want an up-to-date list of open establishments, the most reliable source is the Tourist Office, which keeps the municipal directory.
- Roast Ternasco de Aragón
- Migas a la pastora
- Cod al ajoarriero
- Borage with potato
- Frutas de Aragón (dipped in chocolate)
- D.O. Calatayud wines
Where to stay
Spa hotels
Accommodation revolves around thermal tourism, and almost all the beds in the village are in spa hotels. The Termas Pallarés complex, built from 1863 on an estate of almost seven hectares, brings together three hotels — the four-star Gran Hotel Cascada and Hotel Termas, and the three-star Hotel Parque — around its famous thermal lake and historic gardens.
The municipality also has the Hotel Balneario Alhama de Aragón, a four-star hotel that brought together the former San Roque and Cantarero baths. Both complexes offer thermal circuits and treatments using the village's mineral-medicinal waters, recommended above all for rheumatic and respiratory conditions. It is wise to book ahead in high season and on public holidays; the full directory of accommodation is at the Tourist Office.
How to get there
Access and distances
- Train station
- Alhama de Aragón station, on the Madrid–Zaragoza line, with Media Distancia (regional) services. Madrid is about 181 km away by rail; for the AVE, the nearest station is Calatayud, around 35 km away
- Road
- A-2 Madrid–Zaragoza motorway, as it passes through the Jalón valley; about 2 h from Madrid and just over 1 h from Zaragoza
- Airport
- Zaragoza (ZAZ), about 110 km away; Madrid-Barajas as the major international airport
- Nearby
- Calatayud (~35 km) and the Monasterio de Piedra (~25 km), good day trips
- From Almería
- About 740 km by road, around 7 h by car
Frequently asked questions
What you should know
What can you see and do in Alhama de Aragón?
The main attraction is the thermal lake of Termas Pallarés, one of the largest in Europe, where you can bathe all year round. There is also the castle of Andalusi origin above the village, the Baroque church of the Natividad, the complex of 19th-century spas and the walks beside the river Jalón.
Where to eat in Alhama de Aragón?
In the village there are taverns and eateries, and the spa hotels have their own restaurants. The star dish is the roast ternasco of the Calatayud district, with migas, borage and D.O. Calatayud wines. For an up-to-date list, it is best to ask at the Tourist Office.
Where to stay?
Accommodation is concentrated in the spa hotels: the Termas Pallarés complex (the four-star Gran Hotel Cascada and Hotel Termas, and the three-star Hotel Parque) and the Hotel Balneario Alhama de Aragón, also four-star. It is wise to book ahead in high season.
How do you get to Alhama de Aragón?
By car along the A-2 Madrid–Zaragoza motorway (about 2 h from Madrid). By train, with the Media Distancia services on the Madrid–Zaragoza line that stop at the village station; for the AVE, the nearby stop is Calatayud. The airports are Zaragoza (~110 km) and Madrid-Barajas.
How far is it from Almería?
Alhama de Aragón is about 740 km from Almería by road, around 7 hours by car. They share the origin of the name, the Arabic al-hamma ("the hot spring"), but they are two different provinces, Zaragoza and Almería.
When is the best time to go and can you bathe in the lake?
The thermal lake stays warm all year round (around 28–32 °C) and renews itself naturally every 32 hours, so bathing is possible in any season. Spring and autumn are comfortable for combining the spa with walks; in summer the San Roque festivities take place, in mid-August.
The four Alhama towns
Sisters through water
Spain has several towns called Alhama, and they all share the same origin: the Arabic al-hamma, "the spring of hot water". Alhama de Aragón, Alhama de Almería, Alhama de Granada and Alhama de Murcia were all born from the same act — making use of a thermal spring — and they carry that kinship in their name.
What here is a thermal lake fed by thirty springs is, in Alhama de Almería, the historic baths at the foot of the Sierra de Gádor. Different landscapes, one and the same water.