Puerto de La Laja: Industrial History on the Guadiana

Puerto de La Laja is the last navigable point on the Guadiana River. Stage 41 of the Camino Natural del Guadiana initially follows the left bank of the Guadiana to Puerto de La Laja. There, it turns east towards El Granado, then returns to the Guadiana and ends in Sanlúcar.

Culture

The Muelle-Cargadero and the town centre of Puerto de La Laja are listed in the General Catalogue of Andalusian Historical Heritage as a Bien de Interés Cultural with the typology Lugar de Interés Industrial. The same listing includes the former route of the mining railway and the settlement at Cañada del Sardón in El Granado (Huelva), also classified as a Bien de Interés Cultural with the typology Lugar de Interés Industrial.

Part of the original urban structure and original buildings of the Puerto de La Laja settlement has survived to this day. The «cuarteladas» are clearly recognisable in the settlement. They are a typical form of small miners’ houses arranged in parallel rows of blocks.

History and Townscape

The first documented operating date for the mineral loading quay at Puerto de La Laja is recorded as 1858. The settlement of Puerto de La Laja was founded as a result of the construction of the loading quay in the last quarter of the 19th century.

The surviving original urban structure stands alongside the clearly recognisable «cuarteladas», whose parallel rows of blocks preserve the typical form of small miners’ houses.

The settlement was therefore founded at a later stage than the quay’s first documented operating date. Its still recognisable buildings therefore preserve not only individual house forms, but also the parallel arrangement of the rows of blocks as a characteristic architectural feature of the «cuarteladas».

Hiking and Trails

After Puerto de La Laja, Stage 41 reaches an equipped picnic area with a viewing balcony and impressive views of the river. The stage therefore follows the left bank of the Guadiana to the town, then continues eastwards towards El Granado, returns to the Guadiana and finally reaches Sanlúcar.

The Vía Verde del Guadiana is 16.65 km long. It runs from Puerto de La Laja (El Granado) to La Isabel (El Almendro) in Huelva, Andalusia.

On the Camino Natural Vía Verde del Guadiana, the route passes through a tunnel cut into the rock that is approximately 25 m long. The Vía Verde del Guadiana also includes four bridges and two metal footbridges.

On Stage 41 of the Camino Natural del Guadiana in the Andévalo comarca, the landscape is characterised by Mediterranean scrubland. Holm oaks (Quercus ilex) and cork oaks (Quercus suber) predominate in this scrubland.

Other destinations in this overview: La Redondela, Las Delgadas, Huelva, Bollullos Par Del Condado, Los Marines, Cartaya, Cala, Villalba Del Alcor

To the overarching travel overview: Huelva.