Walking along Acequias

An acequia is a drainage channel or ditch used to transport water. In Andalucia they were introduced by the arabs as an aid to irrigation for agriculture  and to provide water to the centre of towns and cities.  They still exist today. Many walking routes can include stretches alongside acequias. They are normally fairly flat with only a shallow incline. The water in them is normally quite cold because the water has only recently been in a mountain stream or a spring. There is normally a formal system of sharing the water. People in the downstream form   "comunidades de regantes" or "water irrigation associations".  The water is shared with the people who need it using sluice gates. Each person is alloted a time when water will flow into their fields or aljibes (water cisterns) Some   comunidades de regantes have existed for many hundreds of years.