- Alquézar
Alquézar is a municipality in the province of Huesca, in the autonomous community of
Aragon ,Spain . In2004 , it had a population of 309.Situated on alimestone outcrop ofEocene age to the west of thecanyon of the Rio Vero river in theSierra de Guara national park, the village has grown around acastle (alcázar) and the Colegiata de Alquézar of Santa Maria (consecrated in1099 ). The limestone is rich innummulites (largeforaminifera ) from the shallow marine depositional environment.Since Alquézar is situated in the Sierra de Guara
National Park , there is much tourist activity in outdoor pursuits such ascanyoning , walking,rock climbing and abseiling, as well asornithology (sinceeagles nest on the steep faces of the Rio Verocanyon ). Several campsites and outdoor activity companies cater for this interest.The surrounding area to the south towards
Barbastro in the direction of the flatterEbro basin is part of theSomontano , an area known for its finewine s. There are more than 60limestone caves withprehistoric cave paintings which has led to the region being declared aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO in1998 . An example is the cave at Arpán on the A-2205 road heading north towardsBárcabo .External links
* [http://www.alquezar.org/ Alquézar Tourist Office's website (Spanish)]
* [http://www.somontano.org/en/ Somontano information website]
* [http://www.somontano.org/en/municipios_cont.asp?m=alquezar Alquézar page on information website]
* [http://www.somontano.org/en/turismo_cont_conoce.asp?m=rupestre Somontano prehistoric cave paintings]
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