Visiting the abandoned Mina Aqueronte Iron Mine in Murcia, Spain

If you’ve made your way over to this blog, we probably don’t have to explain our enthusiasm towards places like this abandoned iron mine in Murcia in Southern Spain. We’re always looking for places exactly like the Mina Aqueronte; hidden away, no signs that tell you how to get there, very little information available online, and yet surprisingly interesting once you get there

Walking up to the mine is a truly surreal experience. A dozen ruins of the mine’s buildings are scattered over the area, with heaps of the dug out soil all around. You can walk straight into some of the mineshafts (be careful!) and see more of the corridors used to transport goods and people in and out of the mines.

A little history: what is – or was – the Mina Aqueronte?

The Mina Aqueronte is a former iron mine that was in and out of use until the 1960s before finally being abandoned for good. Walking around the complex, it seems as though no-one has shown any interest in maintaining the mine over the 60 or so years since its abandonment. It was left to decay, roofs of the buildings have collapsed and some of the former poles that guided carts of goods down the hill have ended up on their sides. But even more surprising to us – coming from a country where everything is regulated and secured when necessary – is that the mine shafts were even left open. We went a few meters into one of the mine shafts, about as far as we dared go, and found deep drop offs at the end. So definitely take care when exploring the mine!

How did we find the Mina Aqueronte?

In preparation for our trip to Southern Spain in November of 2021, we spent hours searching for blogs, photos and information on places to visit in Andalusia and Murcia. One of the reasons we did this was simply by opening Google Maps and checking out the places and photo spheres that popped up. And this is where we stumbled upon the Mina Aqueronte. Two photo spheres and a location tag with a mere 4 reviews led us there. And a place like this that has 4 reviews on Google Maps stands out to us as a potential hidden gem! And oh how the Mina Aqueronte delivered!

How to get to the Mina Aqueronte

You can find the mine here: Google Maps.

The Mina Aqueronte can only be reached on foot, there is no road leading up to it. It’s not really near any town, so having a car will help out a lot. The best way to get there is to park at the crossroads of the E-22 and RM-E23 roads. From there, follow the paths that are clearly visible on Google Maps Satellite photos towards the North-West and North to get to the mine. The hike to the Mina Aqueronte is not too difficult and takes about 20 minutes each way. Once you get there, like we said a few times before, be careful of where you walk, as there are unsecured drop offs in the mine shafts!

If you have any questions about the Mina Aqueronte that this blog didn’t answer, don’t hesitate to ask them here or on our Instagram!

Want to find more hidden gems in the area? Make sure to check out our blog post 10 best hidden gems in Andalusia & Murcia!

Thomas